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Jason Moran
Beyond Country And Blues: The Jazz Legacy Of Houston

Though not well known for its jazz scene, Houston, Texas has produced some of America's best jazz musicians, including Jason Moran. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Jazz Night In America

Beyond Country And Blues: The Jazz Legacy Of Houston

Though not well known for its jazz scene, Houston has produced some of the country's best jazz musicians, including Jason Moran.

Beyond Country And Blues: The Jazz Legacy Of Houston

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Jason Moran Plays Thelonious Monk

Jason Moran leads an expanded version of his band at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. NPR hide caption

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NPR

Jazz Night In America

Jason Moran Plays Thelonious Monk

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

The artistic director for jazz at the Kennedy Center presents In My Mind, his personal re-imagining of a famous 1959 concert led by his piano hero. Watch highlights from the show.

Jason Moran Plays Thelonious Monk's Town Hall Concert

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Modern Misbehavin': Jason Moran Gets Into The Mind Of Fats Waller

Jason Moran's new album is titled All Rise: A Joyful Elegy For Fats Waller. Clay Patrick McBride/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Clay Patrick McBride/Courtesy of the artist

Music Interviews

Modern Misbehavin': Jason Moran Gets Into The Mind Of Fats Waller

On a new tribute to Waller, Moran explores his subject's many contradictions: "The son of a preacher, the man who likes to drink, the man who finds his sorrow but expresses it through comedy."

Modern Misbehavin': Jason Moran Gets Into The Mind Of Fats Waller

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First Listen: Jason Moran, 'All Rise: A Joyful Elegy For Fats Waller'

Jason Moran. Clay Patrick McBride/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Clay Patrick McBride/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Jason Moran, 'All Rise: A Joyful Elegy For Fats Waller'

Fats Waller sang, emceed, told jokes, wrote hits, and played mean piano. Decades later, a fellow jazz pianist tries to capture his life-of-the-party spirit with drastically new versions of his tunes.

All Rise: A Joyful Elegy For Fats Waller

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.
Jenny Scheinman: Live At The Village Vanguard

Jenny Scheinman. John Rogers/johnrogersnyc.com hide caption

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John Rogers/johnrogersnyc.com

Live At The Village Vanguard

Jenny Scheinman: Live At The Village Vanguard

WBGO

The violinist, composer and occasional country singer has long been developing a rich, earthy take on American music, filtered through adventurous jazz sensibilities.

Jenny Scheinman Quartet in Concert at the Village Vanguard - 10/29/2008

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Jason Moran And The Bandwagon: Live At The Village Vanguard

Jason Moran. John Rogers for NPR/johnrogersnyc.com hide caption

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John Rogers for NPR/johnrogersnyc.com

Live At The Village Vanguard

Jason Moran And The Bandwagon: Live At The Village Vanguard

WBGO

The piano trio is known to deconstruct standards and assemble its pianist's mixed-media compositions in the same breath. Hear the band, led by its recent MacArthur Genius Grant winner, perform.

Jason Moran and The Bandwagon in Concert at the Village Vanguard - 10/06/2010

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A Jazz Piano Christmas 2012

Geri Allen watches as Taylor Eigsti, Jason Moran and Ellis Marsalis, from left, perform in a round robin at A Jazz Piano Christmas 2012. Brendan Hoffman for NPR hide caption

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Brendan Hoffman for NPR

Concerts

A Jazz Piano Christmas 2012

NPR Music has an annual tradition: Invite some of the world's best jazz keyboard players to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, then set them loose on their favorite holiday tunes.

A Jazz Piano Christmas 2012

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Jason Moran's 'Live: Time On The Quilts Of Gee's Bend' Suite On JazzSet

Jason Moran (left), Alicia Hall Moran (center), The Bandwagon and Bill Frisell (right) perform at the KC Jazz Club. Scott Suchman/Courtesy of the Kennedy Center hide caption

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Scott Suchman/Courtesy of the Kennedy Center

JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater

Jason Moran's 'Live: Time On The Quilts Of Gee's Bend' Suite On JazzSet

WBGO

Composer and pianist Jason Moran ushers in his era as Artistic Advisor for Jazz at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., with this performance, captured by JazzSet in honor of Black History Month.

Jason Moran At The Kennedy Center

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Jason Moran On JazzSet

Jason Moran and The Bandwagon perform in the KC Jazz Club. Jati Lindsay/Courtesy of the Kennedy Center hide caption

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Jati Lindsay/Courtesy of the Kennedy Center

JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater

Jason Moran On JazzSet

WBGO

At the KC Jazz Club, Moran sets up two tunes with pre-produced sound montages, including a unique take on "Honeysuckle Rose." Hear Moran's long-running Bandwagon trio play Washington, D.C.

Jason Moran On JazzSet

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Music Articles

Moran On Monk: Finding Rhythm And Space

WNYC Radio

Jazz pianist Jason Moran has been praised for his eclectic and distinctive sound. But sometimes, Moran says, he's in danger of becoming inhabited by the brilliant jazz innovator of another time, Thelonious Monk. Here, Moran talks about discovering one of his biggest musical influences.

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Music Articles

Jazz Pianist Jason Moran

Fresh Air

He's been awarded the 2005 Pianist of the Year award by the Jazz Journalist's Association, and he also received the first ever 2005 Playboy Magazine Jazz Artist of the Year. His new album is called Same Mother, which reflects the 30-year-old musician's current interest in the blues.

Jazz Pianist Jason Moran

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On Jazz Day, Jason Moran Makes The Case For Relevance

Jazz pianist Jason Moran was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2010. Clay Patrick McBride/ hide caption

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Music Interviews

On Jazz Day, Jason Moran Makes The Case For Relevance

UNESCO recently set April 30 as a day to raise awareness of jazz music's potential as a cross-cultural unifier. But in the U.S., the audience is aging, and the music has struggled to connect with younger generations. Jason Moran, the Kennedy Center's artistic adviser for jazz, hopes to change that.

On Jazz Day, Jason Moran Makes The Case For Relevance

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