Tomeka Reid is an award-winning cellist, improviser, composer, educator, and bandleader. Possessed of a rich, woody tone and inventive playing technique, she has been a key member of ensembles led by Anthony Braxton and Roscoe Mitchell. She has served foundational roles in groups led by flutist Nicole Mitchell, vocalist Dee Alexander, trumpeter Jaimie Branch, and drummer Makaya McCraven. Reid is a member of the adventurous Hear in Now string trio and leads the Tomeka Reid Quartet. The latter's eponymously titled debut appeared in 2015 and was followed by Signaling, a collaboration with saxophonist Nick Mazzarella in 2017. Her quartet issued Old New in 2019. In 2020 she issued Shards and Constellations, co-led with pianist/composer Alexander Hawkins, and Combinations, a Rogue Art release of an improvised duo with Joe Morris recorded two years earlier.