© Instrumental Women Project . All Rights Reserved
The Instrumental Women® Project (IWP)
is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) program of
Congressional District Programs
is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) program of
Congressional District Programs
“Much More Than Music, It’s Music For The Cause” ™
Melba Joyce - A graduate of Antioch University West in Los Angeles, she was born in Dallas, Texas, where she grew up under the warm and instructive musical influence of her family. After her family relocated to Los Angeles, Melba found herself opening for such artists as Benny Carter, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and sharing the jazz festival bill with Miles Davis, Freddy Hubbard and Bobby Hutcherson. She appeared in the hit show "Black and Blue" on Broadway, where she understudied all three principal characters and starred in the show's successful world tour. She has appeared in just about every major (and some minor) cities in the world. She toured the war-torn fields of Vietnam to entertain the troops and upon her return to the states was appointed panelist for the Congressional Black Caucus of Women in Jazz Forum. She produced the first Women in Jazz Festival at Harlem's Schomburg Center for Black Culture and became a principal in the Day of the Child Series for UNICEF. And with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, Melba produced Jazz For Special People, a musical education series for the handicapped. As part of the 1998 Kennedy Center-USIA Jazz Ambassador program for a tour of several African countires with a special performance at he Kennedy Center. In addition to her busy schedule, is a Lecturer/Instructor in Global Dance at Suny Old Westbury College, Long Island.
