Musician Guides/Current Calendar Ranking

Verified Global Musician

Melissa Aldana

Melissa Aldana is a tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader whose catalog joins a long-running quintet, the ARTEMIS collective, and ballad projects.

Tenor saxophoneComposerBandleader0 current shows
Saved only on this device

Photo source · Photo: Tore Sætre, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Career Overview

About Melissa Aldana

Blue Note's biography traces Aldana from a family of saxophonists in Santiago, Chile, through Berklee and her first leader albums for Inner Circle. It documents her move from alto to tenor saxophone and the development of an original compositional voice.[2]

Her leader catalog moved through the Crash Trio and Visions before a Blue Note sequence built around her working quintet. Aldana was also a founding member of ARTEMIS, while Filin shifts to a quartet with Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Peter Washington, and Kush Abadey for Cuban ballad repertoire.[2][1]

Ensembles and Career Threads

Bands & Projects

Leader, tenor saxophonist, and composer

Melissa Aldana working quintet

Aldana's Blue Note albums 12 Stars and Echoes of the Inner Prophet document original music developed with a continuing small-group lineup.[2]

Founding member, tenor saxophonist, and composer

ARTEMIS

Aldana participated in the collective's first Blue Note album and contributed the composition Frida to its repertoire.[2]

Leader and tenor saxophonist

Filin quartet

Album released 2026

The quartet with Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Peter Washington, and Kush Abadey approaches songs associated with Cuba's filin tradition as a dedicated ballads program.[2]

Selected, Not Exhaustive

Recordings to Know

2022 · Blue Note Records

12 Stars

Leader, tenor saxophonist, and composer

Aldana's Blue Note leader debut features her quintet in an original program produced by guitarist Lage Lund.[2]

Release details

2024 · Blue Note Records

Echoes of the Inner Prophet

Leader, tenor saxophonist, and composer

The second Blue Note album continues Aldana's introspective writing with her established working ensemble.[2]

Release details

2026 · Blue Note Records

Filin

Quartet leader and tenor saxophonist

Filin presents Aldana in a ballad-centered quartet interpreting repertoire from the Cuban song tradition.[2]

Release details

Artist-Authorized Destinations

Start Listening

Blue Note artist catalog

Hear Aldana's Blue Note leader albums through the label's authorized release destinations.

Official Bandcamp

Stream or purchase Aldana's Visions through her artist-controlled Bandcamp page.

Live Calendar

Upcoming Jazz DateBook Shows

No current Jazz DateBook dates are listed for Melissa Aldana. The career guide remains available while the calendar changes.

Evidence-Based Connections

Related Musician Guides

Connections below come from shared current Jazz DateBook bills or normalized documented performance roles—not subjective similarity.

Allison AuAlto saxophone · ComposerShared documented roles: Saxophonist · Composer · BandleaderAngelika NiescierAlto saxophone · ComposerShared documented roles: Saxophonist · Composer · BandleaderBen WendelSaxophone and bassoon · ComposerShared documented roles: Saxophonist · Composer · BandleaderCaroline DavisAlto saxophone · ComposerShared documented roles: Saxophonist · Composer · BandleaderChris PotterTenor saxophone · Soprano saxophoneShared documented roles: Saxophonist · Composer · BandleaderDennis MitcheltreeTenor saxophone · ComposerShared documented roles: Saxophonist · Composer · Bandleader

Sources

Career copy is original synthesis from the artist, label, and project sources below. Current dates come from Jazz DateBook event inventory.

  1. [1] Official artist site and performance guide

    Melissa Aldana

  2. [2] Label biography and release catalog

    Blue Note Records