"[1] Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote: "Hearing Marilyn Crispell play solo piano is like monitoring an active volcano... She is one of a very few pianists who rise to the challenge of free jazz.

"[2] In addition to her own extensive work as a soloist or bandleader, Crispell is also known as a longtime member of saxophonist Anthony Braxton's quartet in the 1980s and '90s.

[6][1][7] Crispell was not interested in jazz until 1975, when, while living on Cape Cod, she heard John Coltrane's A Love Supreme for the first time.

I had to listen to tons of stuff and transcribe it to be able to hear and understand what was happening, you know, within the confines of these time cycles and chord changes.

[8] While in Boston, she met saxophonist Charlie Mariano, who suggested she consider attending sessions at the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, NY, founded by Karl Berger, Ingrid Sertso, and Ornette Coleman.

[4] In 1977, she visited the studio for a summer, and came into contact with musicians such as Cecil Taylor, Don Cherry, Roscoe Mitchell, Wadada Leo Smith, Anthony Davis, and Oliver Lake.

I was playing like a thousand notes a minute, and he was the first person to make me think of space and breath and phrasing, as opposed to a constant barrage.

"[9] She was soon invited to join Braxton's Creative Music Orchestra and his quartet, of which she was a member from 1983 to 1995, and which also featured bassist Mark Dresser, and drummer Gerry Hemingway.

"[12] During the late 1970s and 1980s, she also worked and recorded with Reggie Workman, Roscoe Mitchell, Wadada Leo Smith, the Barry Guy New Orchestra, the European Quartet Noir (with Urs Leimgruber, Fritz Hauser, and Joëlle Léandre), and Babatunde Olatunji.

In the early 1990s, her style began to evolve further when she visited Stockholm, where she heard a Swedish group that included bassist Anders Jormin.

[14] She is the author of the instructional DVD "A pianist's guide to free improvisation: keys to unlocking your creativity" (2002, Homespun Video).

[6] She also created and directed a multi media production entitled Cy Twombly Dreamhouse, with choreography by Savia Berger.

[18] In 2017, she collaborated with Jo Ganter, visual artist, and Raymond MacDonald, saxophonist, both from Scotland, on Drawing Sound, an exhibition of graphic scores at the Kleinert/James Gallery, Woodstock, NY.