Dci Brendan Moran

Pat Moran - The Pat Moran Quartet (1957) {2CD Set, Bethlehem 20-50022 rel 1992}
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© 1956-57, 1992 Bethlehem Music | 20-50022
Jazz / Bop / Standards / Piano

This double-CD reissues two Bethlehem albums by pianist/vocalist Pat Moran, plus a couple of "mystery" cuts not listed on the set. The music is certainly diverse, including boppish instrumentals by Moran and her trio (bassist John Doling and drummer John Whited), features for singer Beverly Kelly, and group vocals with singing by all four of the participants. The latter is the most dated, sounding a bit like the Four Freshmen style-wise, and is certainly an acquired taste. But since Moran only recorded three albums as a leader (the other was for Audio Fidelity) and there is some excellent straight-ahead playing on this set, the two-fer is of interest to jazz collectors.

This oddball Philip Glass production, featuring Iggy Pop and hallucinogenic paraphrasing of Maharishi-era Beatles tracks, really is a more jolly and entertaining affair than you might expect from a Charles Manson-themed rock-opera. Some fantastic gems in here, and if you're a Beatles fan prepare to have the top of your skull blown off.

Jason Moran - All Rise (2014) {Blue Note B001926102}
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© 2014 Blue Note | B001926102
Jazz / Modern Jazz / Post Bop

Yeah, All Rise: A Joyful Elegy for Fats Waller is a tribute to the great stride pianist, but in Jason Moran's hands, it's not what one would expect. This album isn't full of stride piano, but it is full of Fats Waller's larger persona as a performer. Waller mixed jokes and comic routines, and did whatever he could to connect with his audience in his act, and if his piano playing was the hinge, it sat on a door that opened straight to the dancefloor. This album had its beginnings when Moran was commissioned by the N.Y.C. performing arts venue Harlem Stage Gatehouse to create a tribute to Waller as part of its Harlem Jazz Shrines series.