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Moppa Elliott
In the fall of 1997, I enrolled in both Oberlin College and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music majoring in biology and Jazz bass performance in Oberlin’s double-degree program. While there I was able to record my first CD, Pinpoint and to gain some experience playing in Cleveland OH for about 3 years. I was also fortunate enough to teach at the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts for four summers.
I finished school in the winter of 2001, and moved to New York City the following summer. Here in New York, I have been able to play and record with some great musicians and to continue teaching at St. Mary’s High School.
My group, "Mostly Other People Do the Killing," has just released its third album, This Is Our Moosic on Hot Cup Records.
Awards
Nominated by Jazz Journalist Association - Best Small Ensemble 2007 DownBeat Critics' Poll - Rising Star Ensemble
Gear
c. 1880 Bohemian bass
GK combo amp
Eminence Bass
Warwick Custom
Tags
Acceleration Due To Gravity: Jonesville
![Read "Jonesville" reviewed by Pierre Giroux](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/3437e2a0ba22d6636a95a094c0a57446.jpg)
by Pierre Giroux
Bassist, composer and arranger Moppa Elliott's uniquely-titled nonet Acceleration Due To Gravity presents Jonesville a gravity- defying jazz odyssey. It pays a captivating homage to influential bassist Sam Jones by weaving a sonic tapestry which transcends the boundaries of conventional jazz. In this brief seven-track, twenty-one-minute outing, four compositions are by Elliott, with the remainder being Sam Jones' originals. The members of the octet who participated in this unusual musical excursion are trumpeter Bobby Spellman, trombonist Dave Taylor, alto saxophonist ...
read moreMoppa Elliott's Acceleration Due To Gravity: Jonesville
![Read "Jonesville" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/3437e2a0ba22d6636a95a094c0a57446.jpg)
by Mike Jurkovic
Whatever 'script renegade bassist/composer Moppa Elliot takes on a daily basis, he should be made to share with the rest of the world. Whatever that tonic, whatever that pill, whatever that gumbo scented elixir is, let us have it now. Elliot may not want to open up his private stash to the public, but he sure knows how to let it fly in the music he and his nonet--Acceleration Due to Gravity--put forth on the rightly raucous and ...
read moreMostly Other People Do the Killing: Disasters Vol. 1
![Read "Disasters Vol. 1" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/839978284fe65e6401290c1152198579.jpg)
by Mike Jurkovic
Rest assured, Mostly Other People Do the Killing get the joke and on Disasters Vol.1, the amorphous collective's eleventh disc and this trio's riotous second, you either get the joke too or you don't. It really makes no never-mind to this eclectic bunch because MOPDtK know instinctively that, if you don't throw yourself off balance from time to time, (like every single time the opportunity presents itself) you're going to get deeply sucked into the muck and mire of human ...
read moreMostly Other People Do the Killing: Disasters Vol. 1
![Read "Disasters Vol. 1" reviewed by Karl Ackermann](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/839978284fe65e6401290c1152198579.jpg)
by Karl Ackermann
Mostly Other People Do the Killing has a way of making great music sound accidental. So Disasters Vol. 1 is as suitable a name for this collection as it would be for any of their fourteen albums. In past versions, they have boasted big names such as Jon Irabagon, Peter Evans, and rising talents like guitarist Brandon Seabrook. Drummer Kevin Shea and bassist/composer Moppa Elliot, are two-thirds of the current group and the remaining original members of MOPDtK. Ron Stabinsky ...
read moreMostly Other People Do The Killing: Disasters Vol. 1
![Read "Disasters Vol. 1" reviewed by Jerome Wilson](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/839978284fe65e6401290c1152198579.jpg)
by Jerome Wilson
Moppa Elliott's gonzo-surrealist jazz group, Mostly Other People Do The Killing, returns for a second album in its piano trio format with Elliott on bass, Ron Stabinsky on piano and Kevin Shea on drums. They are up to their usual tricks here, playing slapstick jazz which flits deliriously through all types of styles and sub-genres like an old Warner Brothers cartoon soundtrack. However there is a more serious added element on this album. Elliott, as he often does, named all ...
read moreBryan Murray & Jon Lundbom: Beats by Balto! Vol. 2
![Read "Beats by Balto! Vol. 2" reviewed by Mark Corroto](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/027b309b0a62a34d0bb4323be5a62e73.jpg)
by Mark Corroto
Spinning Beats by Balto Vol. 2 in the midst of a global pandemic brings to mind a quote from Zack de la Rocha: Fear is your only god on the radio." The Rage Against The Machine frontman is begging you to turn off your radio, but somehow you just can't turn off Balto!'s beats. The brain-child of guitarist Jon Lundbom and Bryan Murray (Bryan And The Haggards, Big Five Chord), the spine-tingling essence of this music confirms what ...
read moreMoppa Elliott: Jazz Band/Rock Band/Dance Band
![Read "Jazz Band/Rock Band/Dance Band" reviewed by Jerome Wilson](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/6cd72524a88573a11d071faa69185d19.jpg)
by Jerome Wilson
Bassist Moppa Elliott is best known as the leader of the surrealistic jazz group, Mostly Other People Do The Killing, but his musical universe, encompassing work with symphony orchestras and new music ensembles, stretches much farther than that band's frantic music. This is reflected in this 2 CD set of Elliott leading three different types of groups, a jazz band, a rock band and a dance band. All three ensembles continue Elliott's off-center sensibilities, but in different ways. ...
read moreAnnouncing the Winners of the Hot Cup "Mostly Other People Do the Killing - Forty Fort" Giveaway
![Announcing the Winners of the Hot Cup "Mostly Other People Do the Killing - Forty Fort" Giveaway](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/Unknown-1.jpeg)
Source:
All About Jazz
Enter the Hot Cup "Mostly Other People Do the Killing - Fort Fort" Giveaway
![Enter the Hot Cup "Mostly Other People Do the Killing - Fort Fort" Giveaway](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/Unknown-1.jpeg)
Source:
All About Jazz
All About Jazz members are invited to enter the Hot Cup Records Mostly Other People Do the Killing - Forty Fort giveaway contest starting today. We'll select FIVE winners at the conclusion of the contest on May 13th. Click here to enter the contest
(Following Moppa Elliott at AAJ automatically enters you in the contest.)
Good luck! Your Friends at Hot Cup Records
About MOPDtK MOPDtK formed in the fall of 2003 in New York City. ...
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Moppa Elliott Jazz History Scrambled, with Love and Respect
![Moppa Elliott Jazz History Scrambled, with Love and Respect](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/Unknown-1.jpeg)
Source:
Michael Ricci
Theres a bustling, ostentatious impiety in the music of Mostly Other People Do the Killing. Led by the bassist Moppa Elliott, its a jazz quartet with a diligent grasp of history but an anarchic take on convention.
At Zebulon in Brooklyn late on Thursday night, the group riffled through jazz idioms with hammy geniality, like an impressionist flaunting celebrity voices. The unruliness didnt remotely make it a mess.
Mr. Elliott and his band mates the trumpeter Peter Evans, the saxophonist ...
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Primary Instrument
Bass
Willing to teach
Beginner to advanced
Credentials/Background
I teach music history, theory, and chorus at St. Mary's High School. I also teach bass at the Long Island Conservatory and privately.
Photos
Music
Cobb's Creek
From: Disasters Vol. IIBy Moppa Elliott
Choice
From: JonesvilleBy Moppa Elliott
Three Mile Island
From: Disasters Vol. 1By Moppa Elliott
Waddle
From: Jazz Band/Rock Band/Dance BandBy Moppa Elliott