Jazz pianist, composer, and artist Jason Moran hails from Houston, TX. He’s an alumnus of the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Jaki Byard. Upon graduation, he studied with Andrew Hill and Muhal Richard Abrams. Moran’s 18-year relationship with Blue Note Records produced 9 highly acclaimed recordings. His groundbreaking trio, The Bandwagon (with bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits) is currently celebrating their 20th anniversary.
Moran’s performances with Cassandra Wilson, Charles Lloyd, and the late Sam Rivers reveal the scope of Moran’s partnerships and music making. He’s also worked with visual artists Adrian Piper, Joan Jonas, Glenn Ligon, Adam Pendleton, Lorna Simpson, and Kara Walker, Stan Douglas and others. Recent awards and fellowships include the MacArthur Foundation, US Artists, Doris Duke Foundation and Ford Foundation. Moran collaborated with his wife, the mezzo-soprano/composer Alicia Hall Moran, as named artists in the 2012 Whitney Biennial, constructing BLEED, a five-day series of live performances spanning Motown to acupuncture to dance. They also created WORK SONGS for the 2015 Venice Biennial and continue to produce albums for their record label,
YES RECORDS.
Since his first album, he has produced fourteen additional albums, created scores for Ava DuVernay’s films Selma and 13th, and author Ta-Nehisi Coates’ staged version of Between the World and Me. History is a recurring theme for Moran, who has mounted monumental touring works for Thelonious Monk (IN MY MIND: Monk at Town Hall 1959), Fats Waller (Fats Waller Dance Party, plus a Grammy-nominated album All Rise: An Elegy for Fats Waller) and James Reese Europe (James Reese Europe and the Absence of Ruin).
In 2018, Moran’s first solo museum exhibition opened at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, and traveled to ICA/Boston. The exhibition opened at the Whitney Museum of American Art in September 2019. Moran was the Artistic Director for Jazz at The Kennedy Center for over a decade, teaches at New England Conservatory and Jazz Ahead, and curates the Artist’s Studio series for Park Avenue Armory in New York City.
In 2022, he was elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a prestigious recognition that underscores his significant contributions to the arts.
In 2023, Moran released the album From The Dance Hall To The Battlefield, a tribute to James Reese Europe, a jazz pioneer and bandleader during World War I.
Moran was the Artistic Director for Jazz at The Kennedy Center and for over a decade (since 2014), he has shaped the future of jazz in this iconic institution, while contributing his expertise as a faculty member at New England Conservatory (since 2010). His dedication to mentorship extends to Jazz Ahead, and his visionary curation of the Artist’s Studio series at Park Avenue Armory continues to push artistic boundaries in New York City.
Beyond his roles in education and curation, Moran has continued to captivate audiences with his dynamic live performances. His multimedia tribute to James Reese Europe, From the Dancehall to the Battlefield, has been described as “a sensory overload” and “a meditation on the life and legacy of James Reese Europe, “highlighting his ability to blend music with visual art to evoke profound emotional responses” artsfuse.org.
Critics have lauded his performances as “theatrical, visual, auditory, and intimate” (baystatebanner.com), underscoring his capacity to create multisensory experiences that resonate deeply with audiences.
Moran’s innovative approach to live jazz continues to redefine the genre, offering audiences a rich tapestry of sound and emotion that is both intellectually stimulating and profoundly moving.
