Mor 'an Just a Jazz Show

Jason Moran: photo by Paul BrownLast Saturday evening at Cornell's Bailey Hall, virtuosic jazz pianist Jason Moran gave a multimedia performance of extraordinary measures. Backed by The Big Bandwagon, Moran and company paid tribute to the late great Thelonious Monk with a presentation entitled In My Mind: Monk at Town Hall 1959. They incorporated video and still images with recorded samples and live music to provide a new experience in the realm of jazz music.
The show was free and open to the public as part of a grant from the Atkinson Forum in American Studies at Cornell University. The show sold out as many eager jazz fans in the Ithaca Community wanted to experience the newest creation from Jason Moran.

Monk's Influence
Moran was born in Houston, Texas and began playing the piano at the age of six, but wanted to quit soon after. However, once he identified with the gentle sounds of Thelonious Monk, his creative energy was restimulated. Moran attended Houston's school for Performing and Visual Arts and later the Manhattan School of Music to polish his jazz chops. He debuted on saxophonist Greg Osby's Blue Note CD, Further Ado, and has since recorded several of his own albums including his latest album Same Mother (Blue Note 2005). In the past couple of years, Moran has been touring and working on side projects with artists including saxophonist Charles Lloyd, vocalist Cassandra Wilson, violinist Jenny Scheinman and many others.

The Big Bandwagon
Moran's backing band, The Big Bandwagon, is comprised of seven members: Ralph Alessi on trumpet, Logan Richardson III on alto saxophone, Walter Smith III on tenor saxophone, Corey King on trombone, Bob Steward on tuba, Tarus Mateen on bass and Nasheet Waits on drums and percussion. Each performer was extremely talented and was given opportunities to explore their instruments for the audience as Moran opened every song up for solos. Drummer Waits and bassist Mateen gave an exceptional performance throughout the whole show as the two held an extremely solid pocket and soloed with such enthusiasm rarely seen with today's musicians.

Music and visuals depict a transition of time
In My Mind featured sound samples of interviews with Thelonious Monk and Jason Moran as well as a poem by the same name by Moran. There were visuals of Monk in concert and even a peculiar look at the farm where Monk's grandparents were enslaved in the 1800s. Songs performed came from Monk's legendary New York City Town Hall concert and included "Monk's Mood," "Little Rootie Tootie," "Thelonious," and "Friday the 13th" among others. The last song of the evening was the famous "Crepuscule for Nellie" and Moran and his band gave their own twist on the ending. All of the musicians stood up and began walking off the stage into the aisle while riffing on the end of the tune. The band walked through the doors at the back of Bailey Hall and continued out into the courtyard to finish under the stars.
A big point in the show came when Moran projected an interview for the audience and described the early childhood moment where he first heard Monk's nominal album "The Composer." According to Moran, it was coming from his parent's bedroom and became the pinnacle point in his life that he forever accepted Monk as his biggest role model. In an interview with The Guardian (UK), Moran said,

"I believe Monk routinely shared his history with his audience, no matter how unpalatable that history was, and it is for that very reason that his music connects with people around the globe... In My Mind allows me to ruminate on African- American slavery, jazz history, the piano, my life, religion and redemption. Monk gave me life."

Jason Moran and the Big Bandwagon will continue their In My Mind tour with a couple dates in New York City and a gig in St. Louis before they embark on their European tour beginning October 12.