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Jason Moran

A Century Later, An Illuminated Eulogy For A Jazz Pioneer

A photograph of jazz pianist James Reese Europe projected above the musicians performing Jason Moran's James Reese Europe and the Absence of Ruin. Camille Blake/courtesy of JazzFest Berlin hide caption

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Camille Blake/courtesy of JazzFest Berlin

Music Features

A Century Later, An Illuminated Eulogy For A Jazz Pioneer

Pianist Jason Moran calls James Reese Europe "basically the 'big bang' of jazz." Moran's tribute to the composer and WWI "Hellfighter" pulls his contributions to the genre out of history.

Jazz Giants Take The Stage At The NEA Jazz Masters Listening Party

Joanne Brackeen and Jason Moran at NPR's Studio One in Washington, D.C. Eric Lee/NPR hide caption

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Eric Lee/NPR

Jazz Night In America: The Radio Program

Jazz Giants Take The Stage At The NEA Jazz Masters Listening Party

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

Jason Moran sat down with the NEA Jazz Masters to talk about their careers and listen to music that played important roles in their lives.

Jazz Giants Take The Stage At The NEA Jazz Masters Listening Party

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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.
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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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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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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Fishko Files

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 Interviews

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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Clay Patrick McBride/

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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Jason Moran On 'Piano Jazz: Rising Stars'

"Jaki [Byard] gives me an avenue to travel if I want to go into Earl Hines territory. When I play a Jaki piece, it's not only in honor of Jaki, but it's in honor of the people then who also gave it to him," Jason Moran says of his mentor. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Piano Jazz With Jon Weber

Jason Moran On 'Piano Jazz: Rising Stars'

Hear the talked-about pianist and composer perform a broad set of 21st-century jazz piano tunes.

Jason Moran On 'Piano Jazz: Rising Stars'

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Gary Giddins: 101 Ways To Get Into 'Jazz'

Gary Giddins and Scott DeVeaux's Jazz is a new guide for both novice listeners and longtime fans. Herman Leonard hide caption

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Herman Leonard

Take Five: A Jazz Sampler

Gary Giddins: 101 Ways To Get Into 'Jazz'

WBGO

Attempting to make your way into jazz is never easy, but the jazz writer and cultural critic Gary Giddins has rendered it a bit more approachable. His new book, Jazz, is a new guide for novice listeners and longtime fans alike. Giddins picks five songs from his list of 101 entry-way jazz recordings.

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