Mr. Abrams is one of the    most highly respected musicians in the contemporary music scene. He is co-founder    of The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), founder    of The AACM School of Music, and the first recipient of the grand international    jazz award, The JazzPar Prize, by the Danish Jazz Center (1990).
Except for a brief period    of study at the Chicago Musical College and Governors State University in Chicago    where he studied electronic music, Abrams is predominantly a self-taught musician    who, as a result of many years of observation, analysis, and practice as a performing    musician, has developed a command of a variety of musical styles both as a pianist    and composer. Abrams and members of the AACM are responsible for some of the    most original new music approaches of the last three decades.
Abram’s compositions have    been commissioned and /or performed by New Band, The Rova Saxophone Quartet,    The String Trio of New York, the Brooklyn Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, the    Kronos Quartet, Ursula Oppens, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Cassatt String    Quartet, and countless others. He has recorded and toured the United States,    Canada and Europe with his orchestra, sextet, quartet, duo and as a solo pianist.    His musical affiliations include Max Roach, Dexter Gordon, Clifford Gordon,    Sonny Stitt, Woody Shaw,0Anthony Braxton, The Art Ensemble of Chicago, and Eddie    Harris. His recordings are available on Delmark, Why Not, Black Saint, Arista    Novus, UMO, and New World Records.