[Text by Luke Z. Fenchel; from the Ithaca Times] At thirty-three, Jason Moran is almost universally acknowledged as the finest jazz pianist of his generation. Over the course of seven widely diverse albums, Moran has proven to be a musical omnivore, finding inspiration from pop (Björk, Afrika Bambaataa), classical (Schumann and Cage) and even visual artists (for a recent record Moran sampled the work of conceptual artist Adrian Piper; other compositions have been inspired by the work of Basquiat and Klimt). But for his most recent project, In My Mind: Thelonious Monk at Town Hall 1959, Moran turned to his first source of musical inspiration and the result is as politically profound as it is personal.
This Saturday, Moran and his “Big Bandwagon” ensemble will open the 2008-09 Bailey Hall season with a presentation of the live multimedia performance in full. Presented by the Cornell Concert Series in partnership with the David R. and Patricia D. Atkinson Forum in American Studies, In My Mind will take place at 8pm; the performance is free and open to the public.
The piece, which was commissioned for what would have been Monk’s 90th birthday last year, includes an octet performance with video projections as well as sound clips of Monk speaking about his music, and rehearsing his band for the now-legendary Town Hall performance.
“[In My Mind] is about how I as a pianist, musician, composer tell the story of how I came to listen to Monk…how can I share what I have learned from Monk,” Moran explained by phone from his home in New York City. “Monk means so much more than a stylistic preference or a style of playing for me - he basically changed my life.”
Moran was born in Houston, Texas. After studying classical piano composition through the Suzuki method, he attended Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts where he became an active member of the jazz program, playing in the big band and leading a jazz quartet. But Monk served as a great inspiration to his approach to music. “I grew up from age six playing the classical piano…[and though] I obviously did well enough…it wasn’t like playing tennis or riding the bicycle where you feel the joy.”
When he was thirteen, however, Moran heard Monk’s “Round Midnight” on the record player. “It felt like a very clear moment in my life,” Moran explained, “where it was very easy for myself to know that was what I wanted to do.”
He moved to New York City where he continued his education at the Manhattan School of Music, a school he was drawn to by the prospect of studying with the pianist Jaki Byard, who became Moran’s teacher for four years. He went on to be a sideman in many groups before offering a plethora of albums on Blue Note. The albums display a polyglot approach to musical expression that has come to be Moran’s trademark.
“In the Monk thing, I have always been scared to play Monk because it’s so true and dear to me, I was afraid that I would distort it. But here I’m trying to use that distortion to my advantage.”
Moran has famously used tape loops at his concerts, has approached concerts unconventionally, occasionally providing audiences with glimpses “backstage” and incorporating spoken word elements. “[I have been] thinking about how to create pieces rather than concerts. Just like Balanchine would have a piece that would travel. I wanted to make pieces that were surrounded by, or centered on how I play the piano.”
“I like to wipe slates clean, I don’t like the audience to be able to predict what they’re going to hear. That’s a drag, you know?” Moran continued: “People are searching for new experience. That’s why you go see baseball games; you have no idea if you’re going to go nice innings or 14 innings. And that mystery should be still involved with jazz concerts as well.”
In My Mind includes clips of previously unheard interviews with Monk, as well as scenes of the loft space the composer used to rehearse, and images of the plantation where his great-grandparents worked as slaves.
“Considering where performance has gone, whether it’s Britney Spears or Marina Abromovich, what can happen onstage, you know, you can get away with murder,” said Moran.
“So I’m wondering, in the jazz world, how I can contribute to that canon. Part of what I want to contribute is getting people to think a little further and a little deeper about what and how musicians give things to their audience. You know sometimes it works and sometimes doesn’t, but I want to continue making the effort and hopefully I’ll get better and better as time goes by.”
Jason Moran will perform at Cornell’s Bailey Hall on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 8pm.