 Jason Moran Bandwagon One of the most highly touted of a new generation of jazz musicians, pianist/composer Jason Moran brings his edgy trio (The Bandwagon) to Jazz Standard in Manhattan, July 11-15. Named the first Playboy Jazz Artist of the Year for 2005 and a “three-peat” winner Downbeat’s Critics Poll (Rising Star Jazz Artist, Rising Star Composer and Rising Star Acoustic Piano), 32-year-old Moran has followed a fast-rising trajectory since his days touring with hot alto saxophonist Greg Osby. With “one of the most independent minds now working in jazz” (New York Times), Moran’s music crosses genres and generations with a singular energy and imagination, as “one of the most potent suppliers of unpredictable music around” (JazzTimes). While his expanded “Bandwagon” ensemble has been turning ears with the release of Artist in Residence, Moran’s working trio—bassist Taurus Mateen and drummer Nashiet Waits—allows a more intimate glimpse of the music.
Jason Moran Born and raised in Houston, Jason Moran and his brothers were surrounded by opportunities to explore the arts and particularly music. His father, banker Andy Moran, was a jazz enthusiast who served as house photographer for La Bastille, Houston’s premiere jazz club in the 1970s. The elder Moran built a collection of over 10,000 records that provided young Jason with the eclectic foundation that would inform his own music. The Morans introduced their sons to the arts of Houston through trips to the symphony and art museums, and enrolled them in the Suzuki Music School of Houston. There, the brothers studied classical piano with Russian immigrant, Yelena Kurinet, and soon each had his own piano. Kurinet remembers Jason, at age five or six: “It was obvious he was talented. He was a pretty serious young man." Yet, Moran was starting to lose interest in the piano as a young teen, when he discovered Thelonious Monk in his father’s record collection. Studying jazz piano through a summer workshop, he moved on to private lessons to learn chord changes. At the Houston School of the Performing and Visual Arts, he further advanced his skills, leading to his enrollment at the Manhattan School of Music. In New York (with his childhood piano, which he still plays), Moran found an invaluable mentor in the late Jaki Byard. “Further Ado, which in turn led Moran to a contract with Blue Note. His own debut recording, Soundtrack to Motion, hit the top spot in The New York Times ' Top Recordings of the Year for 1999, with the Time’s proclaiming that “He's such an obvious exception to the often-heard gripe that jazz hasn't produced individualists since the '60s.” His next recording, Facing Left (2000), dubbed by Jazz Times as “an instant classic,” was the beginning of what would become the trio, Bandwagon, as Moran teamed with bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits. Next he collaborated with Sam Rivers on the acclaimed Black Stars (2001) and released the dynamic solo, Modernistic (2002), before returning to the trio format for the first release of The Bandwagon (2003), recorded live at the Village Vanguard. Of Bandwagon, Ben Ratliffe (New York Times) notes, “It extends the rhythm-section ideas, basic to jazz, of the 1960's Miles Davis Quintet, and it derives energy and guided, purposeful abstraction from musicians like Cecil Taylor. Mr. Moran's curt, percussive themes reflect deep listening to Thelonious Monk and Count Basie; the impact and layering and collagist instincts in the music are indigenous to those raised on hip-hop culture.” Moran is always experimenting. With the help of a grant from Chamber Music America, he developed compositions based on tapes of speaking voices in different languages (Italian, Japanese, Turkish) and has integrated loops of telephone conversations in different languages into the music of his ensemble. Several commissions included “Milestones” for the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and “Rain” for Jazz at Lincoln Center, featuring The Bandwagon with Abdou Mboup (kora, djembe and talking drum) and Ralph Alessi (trumpet). These works form the nucleus of his 2006 Blue Note release, Artist in Residence, acclaimed as one of the top recordings of the year. The Bandwagon Moran’s compatriots in The Bandwagon are well-established artists with acclaimed careers of their own. Drummer Nasheet Waits was encouraged to follow in the footsteps of his father, drummer Fredrick Waits, who played with such legends as Ella Fitzgerald, Sonny Rollins, and McCoy Tyner. Hired by Max Roach as a member of the M’Boom ensemble, Waits went on to work with Antonio Hart, with whom he continues to record and tour. He has also worked as a member of Andrew Hill’s Nonet and holds the percussion chair for the Fred Hersch Trio. His recording credits include Geri Allen, Hamiett Bluiett, Jaki Byard, Ron Carter, Steve Coleman, Joe Lovano, Jackie McLean, Joshua Redman, Wallace Roney, Jacky Terrason, Mark Turner, and many others. Bassist Taurus Mateen has managed the pulse for many of today’s top jazz artists, including Greg Osby, Marc Cary, Wessell Anderson. With Waits, he has appeared on each of Moran’s ensemble recordings since Facing Left. For anyone who appreciates jazz tradition and it creative extensions, the trio performances at Jazz Standard offer the opportunity to witness the next stage in the evolution an artist who is shaping the future of American music. “…Moran is known for his genre-busting, envelope-pushing experiments, in which Bartok and Basie get processed through his own highly personal, highly developed sensibility, and come out sounding brand new.” (TEXAS—Houston Chronicle Magazine, June 2004) Jason Moran and Bandwagon perform two shows each night, with a third late set on Friday and Saturday, at Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St in Manhattan, July 11-15; www.jazzstandard.com |
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Sunday, 07 September 2008
