Jason Moran
Black Stars 
Blue Note 32922 
2001 09 11 

Jason Moran’s third Blue Note release features the Facing Left
trio in the company of Sam Rivers, incredibly robust at 77 years of age.
 It’s an all-acoustic outing this time around — no Fender Rhodes, no Hammond
B-3. The presence of Rivers really brings out the fire in Moran and his
colleagues, bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits. There’s a live
intensity to this session that was somehow missing from the previous one. 

The repertoire on Black Stars continues what Moran began on Facing
Left. There’s another obscure Ellington cover ("Kinda Dukish," with the
trio), another Jaki Byard cover ("Out Front," for solo piano), and a third
installment in Moran’s ongoing "Gangsterism" series — this one the metrically
modified "Gangsterism on a River." Rivers is heard on tenor for the most part,
although he plays flute and soprano on "Summit," flute alone on "The Sun at
Midnight," and piano and flute on the closing "Sound It Out." The moods and
tempos vary widely, and the excitement peaks on Rivers’s "Earth Song," a piece
that appeared on the rare 1974 big band record Crystals. Moran’s own
writing displays exceptional depth and creative range, from the meditative
piano/tenor duo "Say Peace" to the relentless 6/8 of "Draw the Light Out," one
of his most unusual pieces to date. 

A remarkably mature offering from the 26-year-old Moran, and a must-hear for
fans of Sam Rivers as well. ~David R. Adler 

Songs:
1. Foot Under Foot 2. Kinda Dukish 3. Gangsterism on a River 4. Earth Song
5. Summit 6. Say Peace 7. Draw the Light Out 8. Out Front 9. The Sun at
Midnight 10. Skitter In 11. Sound It Out 

Jason Moran, piano; Sam Rivers, tenor and soprano saxophones, flute, piano
(11); Tarus Mateen, bass; Nasheet Waits, drums 




Jason Moran, Soundtrack to Human Motion (CD, 52:47)
Blue Note 97431, 1999
Blue Note Records
304 Park Avenue South, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10010
Phone: 212-253-3000
E-mail: dlmedia@earthlink.net
Cyberhome: www.bluenote.com


        Can we all just agree that this is the debut of the year, if not the 
record of the year? Jazz has seen its share of excellent young 
players, but 24-year-old pianist Jason Moran really raises the bar 
with his superb Soundtrack to Human Motion. Moran explains the 
title as follows: "I like to think this recording could serve as the 
soundtrack to all movements a human might make in a given day . . ." If 
only my daily movements were anywhere near as graceful and beautiful 
and fascinating as this album.
	Moran has been recording as a sideman for a whopping . . . two 
years. Many struggle a lifetime to attain his level of mastery. With 
his piano playing no less than his writing and arranging, Moran has 
already crafted a distinctive jazz voice, and it shines through on 
this CD from the first note to the last.
	Innovative altoist Greg Osby, who gave Moran his start, 
served as his mentor, and produced this disc, appears as the sole 
horn. Joining Osby are Stefon Harris on vibes, Lonnie Plaxico on 
bass, and Eric Harland on drums. The entire ensemble is featured only 
on "Gangsterism on Canvas," "Still Moving," and "Aquanaut." Harris 
sits out for "Snake Stance," Osby for "Retrograde." Moran shifts to 
piano trio mode for "JAMO Meets SAMO," "Release From Suffering," and 
"States of Art," which begins with a solo rendition of Ravel's "Le 
Tombeau de Couperin." The album closes with "Root Progression," a 
stellar duet between Moran and a soprano-blowing Osby. Moran employs 
his players very wisely, varying the combinations so that the sound 
of the record is never static, always in motion.
	Smack in the middle of the program, Moran plays a solo piece 
called "Kinesics." As I listened, an historical panorama of solo jazz 
piano came into view. Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Bud Powell, 
Thelonius Monk-somehow Moran encompasses them all and utters a 
marvelous fin de siècle statement on jazz past and future, in 
a harmonic language all his own.
	No doubt Moran's imagination will take him down many 
interesting roads. His influences are drawn from art, literature, and 
theater, as well as from classical music all the way to hip-hop. This 
is a critical broad-mindedness, though, not an 
everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach to the creative enterprise. 
Moran simply knows talent for what it is, wherever it comes from. So 
when he mentions a desire to work with pop singer Björk and hip-hop's 
MC Saafir, one gets the feeling he's not talking about some ordinary 
crossover project. Watch this man closely and see what develops.
~David R. Adler


To purchase this recording and get more info, soundclips, etc.
CLICK ON ARTIST'S NAME ABOVE
OR . . .
Please visit my BUY IT E.E.R. NOW INDEX PAGE
or 
 go to my LINKS page and find the vendors' section. 
Happy hunting!