Jason Moran's fourth Blue Note album, a highly idiosyncratic solo piano venture, attempts to reconcile a staggeringly diverse set of influences into a cohesive artistic vision. Beginning with stride master James P. Johnson's "You've Got to Be Modernistic," the omnivorous young pianist then takes that title to heart by personalizing everything from Robert Schumann's "Auf Einer Burg" to Muhal Richard Abrams' "Time Into Space Into Time" to Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock." Among the originals are two more chapters in Moran's ongoing "Gangsterism" series, as well as the closing "Gentle Shifts South," one of his simplest, most affecting melodies. Not unlike Brad Mehldau's Largo, which was released around the same time, Modernistic explodes jazz piano conventions by addressing the issue of sound…
The adventurous pianist, composer, and bandleader Jason Moran added guitarist Marvin Sewell to his band on 2005's Same Mother. Sewell is back and melding further with his own funky blues-based playing on Artist in Residence, which is a far-reaching jazz record combining elements of post-bop, New Orleans jazz, funk, blues and even post-20th century classical music to Moran's array of shades and colors to play with. The repetitive sampled spoken word loop by Adrian Piper which acts as the ground for both the opener "Break Down" and "Artists Ought To Be Writing" is a bit h jarring when the band lights up under her. As she chants "Break down the barriers/Break down, misunderstanding/Break down, the artworld/Break down, the artist/Break down, the general public . .," the band uses it (looped continually through the piece, even in the solos) to ground everything in a circular rhythmic principle…
Charles Lloyd's 2024 musical offering, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow, is a majestic double album of new studio recordings from the legendary saxophonist which will be released on March 15, 2024, Lloyd's 86th birthday. One of the most significant musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries, Lloyd remains at the peak of his powers in the company of a newly assembled quartet of four distinctive voices with the NEA Jazz Master joined by pianist Jason Moran, bassist Larry Grenadier, and drummer Brian Blade.
Charles Lloyd's 2024 musical offering, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow, is a majestic double album of new studio recordings from the legendary saxophonist which will be released on March 15, 2024, Lloyd's 86th birthday. One of the most significant musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries, Lloyd remains at the peak of his powers in the company of a newly assembled quartet of four distinctive voices with the NEA Jazz Master joined by pianist Jason Moran, bassist Larry Grenadier, and drummer Brian Blade.
Charles Lloyd's 2024 musical offering, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow, is a majestic double album of new studio recordings from the legendary saxophonist which will be released on March 15, 2024, Lloyd's 86th birthday. One of the most significant musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries, Lloyd remains at the peak of his powers in the company of a newly assembled quartet of four distinctive voices with the NEA Jazz Master joined by pianist Jason Moran, bassist Larry Grenadier, and drummer Brian Blade.