“Monk is the reason I started playing piano. I owe him all the investigation I can do.” - Jason Moran, quoted in the Boston Globe
 Jason Moran
Jason Moran was born January 21, 1975 in Houston, Texas. He attended Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts where he became an active member of the jazz program, playing in the big band and leading a jazz quartet. He moved to New York City where he continued his education at the Manhattan School of Music, a school to which he was drawn by the prospect of studying with the pianist Jaki Byard, who became Moran’s teacher for 4 years and a role model for life. It was during this time that Moran also took lessons from other forward-thinking pianists such as Muhal Richard Abrams and Andrew Hill, creative musicians who imparted a profound influence on Moran, and encouraged him to find his own distinct voice.  Jaleel Shaw © Andrea Canter Moran’s debut recording as a leader, Soundtrack to Human Motion, which found him in the company of Osby, Harland, vibraphonist Stefon Harris and bassist Lonnie Plaxico, was released in 1999 to great critical praise (Ben Ratliff of The New York Times named it the best album of the year). The following year’s Facing Left found Moran stripping down to a trio with bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits, and prompted JazzTimes Magazine to declare the album “an instant classic.” Moran augmented the trio for his third Blue Note release, Black Stars, adding avant-garde icon Sam Rivers, who plays saxophone, flute and piano on the recording. Gary Giddins of the Village Voice exclaimed “Black Stars is possibly a Blue Note benchmark, definitely one of the year’s outstanding discs.” Moran has performed as a sideman with such artists as Cassandra Wilson, Joe Lovano, Ravi Coltrane and Stefon Harris. He was the youngest honoree of the San Francisco Jazz Festival Commission and he has recently been awarded a grant from Chamber Music America’s “New Works: Creation and Presentation” program, which is funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
 T. S. Monk
T. S. received the New York Jazz Awards First Annual "Recording of the Year" and 'Downbeat's' prestigious 63rd Reader's Poll Award for Monk On Monk, the "80th Anniversary Birthday Tribute to Thelonious Sphere Monk" featuring twenty guest artists including Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Arturo Sandoval, Dianne Reeves, Nnenna Freelon, Howard Johnson, among others perform on the recording. Critics and the public lauded T. S. Monk as his father's true musical heir, as bandleader, and performer. Rave reviews in the Hollywood Reporter, Variety, the L.A. Times, and others, echoed the public sentiment of the sold out concert hall shows across the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.
Shortly after his father passed away leaving a rich and legendary legacy and, tragically, his sister died of cancer. To honor his father's legacy and support the efforts of education, Thelonious turned his attention toward forming the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. As Chairman, Thelonious has been at the forefront of helping to create a number of programs that range supporting after-school athletic programs. The Institute's activities reach from Boston to Los Angeles sponsoring music education for students in the form of full scholarships to funding and supplies and from New York to Orlando.
"Monk Town Hall Revisited"
Jason Moran & Orchestra featuring T.S. Monk
Saturday, May 19 at 8pm
There will also be a Inside Jazz Pre-Concert Talk, “Monk Town Hall Revisited ” at 7 PM.
Palace Of Fine Arts Theatre
3601 Lyon Street
San Francisco, California 94123
TIckets at $64, $44, $36, and $25.
www.sfjazz.org |
Saturday, 05 July 2008
