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Jason Moran

In almost every category that matters—improvisation, composition, group concept, repertoire, technique and experimentation—Moran, and his group The Bandwagon— with bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits— have challenged the status quo, and earned the reputation as "the future of jazz."

Frequently influenced by the wider world of art as his muse, Moran has found inspiration in edgy 20th century painters like Jean-Michel Basquiat (check out "JAMO Meets SAMO" from Soundtrack to Human Motion, as well as his ongoing series of "Gangsterism" compositions); Egon Schiele (whose painting "Facing Left" provided the eponymous title to Moran's second album); and Robert Rauschenberg, whose chaotic refinement inspired Moran's third album Black Stars, featuring the legendary Sam Rivers.

Moran is currently preparing for the release of TEN, his 10th anniversary album with The Bandwagon, on June 22, 2010. The trailblazing trio has proven to be one of the most enduring and creative piano trios in jazz today. TEN represents their most assured and focused album to date.

Moran's debut recording as a leader, Soundtrack to Human Motion, was released in 1999 to great critical praise. Ben Ratliff of The New York Times named it the best album of the year and the Jazz Journalists Association awarded it "Best Debut Recording." The following year, Facing Left, established The Bandwagon 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 2000's outstanding discs."

In 2002, Moran released his universally acclaimed solo piano disc Modernistic, prompting the Cork (Ireland) Jazz Festival to award him the 2002 Guinness Rising Star Award. Preeminent jazz critic Gary Giddins proclaimed it "a benchmark achievement and a profound illustration of his capacity to combine classicism and maverick innovation."

2003's release The Bandwagon, culled from the trio's six- day stint at New York's Village Vanguard, earned the team of Moran-Mateen-Waits a title as "the best new rhythm section in jazz! —NY Times." The Jazz Journalists Association awarded Moran with the "Up-n-Coming Jazz Musician" of 2003. Moran topped The Downbeat Critics Poll in three categories in 2003 and 2004—Rising Star Jazz Artist, Rising Star Pianist, Rising Star Composer.

In 2005, his blues homage, Same Mother was released. This same year he received the first ever Playboy Jazz Artist of the Year award. Artist in Residence debuted in 2006 and showcased Moran's signature brilliance with ambitious undertakings. In the span of one year, Moran accepted and recorded three separate commissions from three pre-eminent and very diverse American arts institutions: The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Dia Art Foundation, and Jazz at Lincoln Center.

In 2007, Moran was commissioned to create IN MY MIND: Monk at Town Hall, 1959, the critically-acclaimed multi- media performance investigating Thelonious Monk's famous recording, Monk at Town Hall. IN MY MIND examines Monk's process of creating this seminal concert using audio of conversations with Monk and the arranger Hal Overton.

This personal experience has been transformed into a feature documentary entitled IN MY MIND by director Gary Hawkins. The film premiered at the 13th Annual Full Frame Documentary Festival, and will have a special screening with the New York Public Library in April as part of the Jazz Loft Project exhibition.

Not surprising, the legendary Monk had a pivotal role in influencing young Moran to become a jazz musician. In 1981, at the age of six, the Houston native began studying the piano, but longed to quit until he first heard the sounds of Monk, an experience that established an early role model in Moran's creative development. Moran later honed his musical education at New York's Manhattan School of Music.

Music education still plays a central role in Moran's life. He is on the piano faculty at Manhattan School of Music. He has been lecturer/instructor at Yale University, Dartmouth University, University of Pennsylvania, Eastman School of Music, The Kennedy Center, The New School, New York's Museum of Modern Art, Banff Center for The Arts, Denmarks' Vallekilde Jazz Camp, Skidmore and Stanford Jazz Workshop.

A musician of diverse cultural interests, Moran is a connoisseur of modern furniture design who now exclusively performs in a chair specially built for him by the Danish designer Susanne Forsgreen. He is also a devotee of the painter Jean Michel Basquiat whose work continues to fuel his "Gangsterism..." series of compositions first heard on his debut's instant classic "Gangsterism on Canvas." That series reappears twice on Same Mother's opening and closing numbers, "Gangsterism on the Rise" and "Gangsterism on the Set," which correlate stride and dissonance.

Moran has performed and/or recorded with artists Cassandra Wilson, Wayne Shorter, Charles Lloyd, Dave Holland, Marian McPartland, Don Byron, Joe Lovano, Greg Osby, Steve Coleman, Von Freeman, Andrew Hill (duo), Uri Caine (duo), Bunky Green, Sam Rivers, Lee Konitz, Paul Motian, Chris Potter, Jenny Scheinman, Christian McBride, and Stefon Harris.

His ongoing visionary collaborations in the art world have brought him additional fans and respect. Moran's music is in the collections of both the MOMA and Whitney Museum of American Art. He scored a ballet for renowned Alonzo King's LINES Ballet, as well as scoring video works for contemporary American artists Glenn Ligon and Kara Walker. Moran also has worked with pivotal visual/performance artists Joan Jonas and Adrian Piper. A future collaboration with Grammy-nominated neo-soul artist Meshell Ndegeocello—a dance party centered on the music of Fats Waller—will premiere in 2011.

Moran lives in New York City with his wife, mezzo soprano Alicia Hall Moran, and their twin toddlers. Show less

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Read "From the Dancehall to the Battlefield" reviewed by Neri Pollastri

by Neri Pollastri
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Uscito il primo gennaio 2023 su Bandcamp, questo album di Jason Moran, per il suo concept, per la varietà e la ricchezza, per il modo in cui fonde radici storiche e modernità è probabilmente da considerare il disco dell'anno. Il suggestivo titolo From the Dancehall to the Battlefield sintetizza la storia del mitico musicista a cui è dedicato: James Reese Europe, compositore, arrangiatore e direttore d'orchestra nero, nato a Mobile, in Alabama, nel 1881, e trasferitosi prima a ...

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$Read "Refract" reviewed by Pat Youngspiel$

by Pat Youngspiel
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Album Review

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Read "The Sound Will Tell You" reviewed by Mark F. Turner

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Event

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Source: Stephanie Janes PR
May 5, 2022

The Celebrity Series of Boston announces its 2022/23 season today, marking 84 years of bringing touring and local performing artists to Boston. In this new season, audiences will find a diverse and dazzling array of artists in one of the Series’ largest seasons ever. Expanded programming offers audiences new venues to explore, artist debuts, beloved returning artists, and in-person and streaming options for both the ticketed and free Neighborhood Arts events. With classical music and contemporary/jazz curated by guest programmers ...
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Birthday

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Source: Michael Ricci
January 21, 2022

All About Jazz is celebrating Jason Moran's birthday today!

Since his formidable emergence on the music scene in the late 90s, jazz pianist Jason Moran has proven more than his brilliance as a performer. The Blue Note Records recording artist has established himself as a risk-taker and innovator of new directions for jazz as a whole. In almost every category that matters—improvisation, composition, group concept, repertoire, technique and experimentation—Moran, and his group The Bandwagon— with bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer ...
read more

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Jason Moran

Source: Michael Ricci
January 21, 2021

All About Jazz is celebrating Jason Moran's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Jason Moran

Source: Michael Ricci
January 21, 2020

All About Jazz is celebrating Jason Moran's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Jason Moran

Source: Michael Ricci
January 21, 2019

All About Jazz is celebrating Jason Moran's birthday today!

Place our Musician of the Day widget on your ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Jason Moran

Source: Michael Ricci
January 21, 2018

All About Jazz is celebrating Jason Moran's birthday today!

Place our Musician of the Day widget on your ...
read more

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Jason Moran

Source: Michael Ricci
January 21, 2017

All About Jazz is celebrating Jason Moran's birthday today!

Place our Musician of the Day widget on your ...
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Performance / Tour

NEC Faculty Member Jason Moran Led A Performance Of "The Music Of Andrew Hill"

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications
February 9, 2016

As the culmination of one of his regular teaching residencies, NEC faculty member Jason Moran presented a performance of the music of his mentor Andrew Hill in a concert titled simply “The Music of Andrew Hill" on Thursday, January 28. Moran led NEC students in the re-imagining of Hill's music, including material drawn from several landmark albums. The concert took three different approaches to the world of Andrew Hill. Interspersed through the evening, four pianists took on songs dating from ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Jason Moran

Source: Michael Ricci
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All About Jazz is celebrating Jason Moran's birthday today!

Place our Musician of the Day widget on your ...
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Education

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Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
July 28, 2015

In addition to being two of the top pianists in contemporary jazz, both Jason Moran and Vijay Iyer are past winners of much-coveted MacArthur Fellowships (aka “the genius grant"), and both have developed accompanying reputations as deep thinkers. For this week's “Music Education Monday," here's a small window into the minds of both men, via a video of a joint masterclass they did in September 2014 at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Moran is a member of ...
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"Although he has the facility to play with breathtaking fleetness, his uniqueness traces to his refusal to be locked into predictable, bebop-based patterns." —The Los Angeles Times

"Moran is like no other pianist at work. His improvisations are dynamic, eruptive, keyed to the compositions at hand." —Village Voice

"When Jason Moran performs with his trio, Bandwagon, these days, he engages in a ritual that befits one of the most independent minds now working in jazz." —The New York Times

"Of course, countless other jazz musicians have tried to reinvent eras past, including the elliptical 1960s, with varying degrees of success. But it's Moran's writing, the bane of so many a young pyrotechnic lions, that separates him." —Newsweek