Her formal name is “Megnificent,” but her friends just call her “Meg.” Still others, upon hearing one of her many cornball musician jokes, have dubbed her “NutMeg.”

Seriously though, this versatile artist brings a cornucopia of skills to any stage. Not only is she a sought-after “sideman” for various jazz, Dixieland, bluegrass and ragtime combos, but she also performs as a soloist, accompanist, and is a transcriber and arranger of all forms of music.

It would be faster to name the instruments Meg Graf doesn’t play, as her skills encompass a broad set; including piano, flute, clarinet, all the saxes (including bass sax), accordion, fiddle, and even hammered dulcimer. Her love of all these instruments is reflected in her particular fondness of “Big George,” her 1924, nickel-plated, Conn bass saxophone. Although the huge horn is taller than she is when seated, veteran sax players are often envious of the big, full sound she generates.

Like the many instruments she’s mastered, Meg’s repertoire is broad and extensive. From classical to jazz, from ragtime to bluegrass; her catalog of tunes is endless. She takes special pride in her inventory of ragtime numbers for piano, having successfully accomplished a personal goal of memorizing one ragtime piece every two weeks. Since this has been going on for quite a while, you can imagine the vast stable of tunes already under her fingers. And reading/sight-reading are not a problem either, as Meg is always anxious to discover new musical “gold nuggets” from her own growing sheet music library, or from whatever new or vintage composition is set before her.

Email Meg: meggraf@hotmail.com