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Jason Moran

Jason Moran
Photo: Spotify

About

Jason Moran is an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator born in Houston, Texas in 1975, widely regarded as one of the most inventive voices in contemporary jazz. His music draws on stride piano, hip-hop, blues, and avant-garde improvisation, and he regularly extends it into multimedia installations and visual art. He served as Artistic Director for Jazz at the Kennedy Center from 2011 to 2025, and teaches at the New England Conservatory. A MacArthur Fellow since 2010, he has scored films for Ava DuVernay and collaborated with visual artists including Kara Walker and Joan Jonas.

#1
DownBeat Critics Poll 2010 - Jazz Album, Pianist, and Jazz Artist of the Year (album Ten)
18+
Albums released as leader since 1999
#7
Peak position on Billboard Jazz Albums chart (All Rise: A Joyful Elegy for Fats Waller, 2014)

What's new

  • 2025-07

    Moran announced on social media on July 9, 2025 that he has left his position as Artistic Director for Jazz at the Kennedy Center, ending a 14-year tenure.

  • 2025-03

    Moran was named artist-in-residence at the Detroit Jazz Festival 2025 (Labor Day weekend, Aug 28 - Sep 1), where he plans to premiere a new composition blending jazz and Detroit techno.

  • 2025-02

    Moran performed at the Kennedy Center as part of a new trio with electronic musician BlankFor.ms and drummer Marcus Gilmore, exploring real-time digital-acoustic interaction.

  • 2025-05

    Moran completed an experimental artist residency at RISD's Film/Animation/Video department, which he began in fall 2024 with workshops and a talk on Louis Armstrong as visual artist.

  • 2023

    Moran received the German Jazz Prize for pianist of the year in 2023.

Tour

ManhattanAustinDetroit

Tracks

Modernistic2002 solo piano album, critically acclaimed exploration of stride and 20th-century rhythmic techniques
The Bandwagon2003 live trio album at Village Vanguard; Rolling Stone called Moran 'the most provocative thinker in current jazz'
Ten2010 album; DownBeat Jazz Album, Pianist, and Jazz Artist of the Year; MacArthur Fellowship year
All Rise: A Joyful Elegy for Fats Waller2014 Blue Note album with Meshell Ndegeocello; Grammy-nominated; peaked at #7 on Billboard Jazz chart
From the Dancehall to the Battlefield2023 album; tribute to WWI-era bandleader James Reese Europe

😴 Nothing scheduled with this artist in the near future.

Past · 4

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