title: Yelena Eckemoff
text: # Yelena Eckemoff
  
  Yelena Eckemoff is a Russian-born pianist, composer, poet, and visual artist. Her compositions blend classical music with jazz, and feature exploration and improvisation.
  
  ## Music career
  
  Eckemoff was born in Moscow, Russia, in the Soviet Union. Her mother was a professional pianist and teacher. When Eckemoff was four, she started to play piano by ear and took lessons from her mother. At seven, she attended Gnessin State Musical College, a school for gifted children. She studied classical piano at Moscow State Conservatory. After graduating, she taught piano in Moscow. She gave solo concerts, took jazz classes, composed music for several instruments, and played in a jazz-rock band.
  
  In 1991, she moved to the U.S. She has recorded in several genres: classical, vocal, folk, Christian, and jazz. Although jazz is typically associated with improvisation, Eckemoff often writes scores for her songs. Her music has been described as classical chamber music in the context of improvisational jazz.
  
  ## Discography
  
  * Cold Sun (L&H, 2010)
  * Grass Catching the Wind (L&H, 2010)
  * Flying Steps (L&H, 2010)
  * Forget-Me-Not (L&H, 2011)
  * Glass Song (L&H, 2013)
  * A Touch of Radiance (L&H, 2014)
  * Lions (L&H, 2014)
  * Everblue (L&H, 2015)
  * Leaving Everything Behind (L&H, 2016)
  * Blooming Tall Phlox (L&H, 2017)
  * In the Shadow of a Cloud (L&H, 2017)
  * Desert (L&H, 2018)
  * Better Than Gold and Silver (L&H, 2018)
  * Colors (L&H, 2019)
  * Nocturnal Animals (L&H, 2020)
  * Adventures of the Wildflower (L&H, 2021)
  * I Am a Stranger in This World (L&H, 2022)
  * Lonely Man and His Fish (L&H, 2023)
  