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| Jazz pianist Jason Moran |
The Blue Note recording artist pianist Jason Moran inarguably has
one of the most inventive minds in contemporary jazz. Never one to think inside
the box. Moran was in Detroit Friday evening part of the Paradise Jazz Series.
In a 70 minute set, Moran paid tribute to the iconic jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, who
would’ve been 100 last year. The concert wasn’t a run-of-the-mill tribute. Moran
included video and audio footage of Monk speaking about his life and his work, which
made it appear as if Monk’s spirit was on the stage with Moran’s band. Moran
also included some biographical information about himself and his affinity for
Monk’s legacy. For the tribute, Moran turned his longstanding trio Bandwagon
into an octet, and the band performed cuts from Monk’s classic 1959 album “Thelonious
Monk Orchestra at Town Hall”. Moran opened with a solo rendition of “Thelonious”. Then he
brought out his band saxophonists JD Allen and Immanuel Wilkins, bassist Tarus
Mateen, drummer Eric McPherson, trumpeter Ralph Alessi, trombonist Frank Lacy,
and tuba player Bob Stewart. Many noted jazz musicians the world over have
tried their hands at Monk’s music with varying degrees of success. Moran has an intimate understanding of Monk’s work as if Monk set Moran
down and explain the inner workings of his music point by point. All concert
long, Moran started the music as Monk originally conceived it. Then Moran added
his own splashes of brilliance and color via myriad tempo, rhythmic, and mood
changes. There’re crowd-pleasing solos by
Lacy, Allen, and McPherson throughout the
performance. The moments of the concert that most likely played over and over
in the audience’s heads driving home were the band’s reworking of “Little
Rootie Tootie,” and “Crepuscule with Nellie”. Near the end of the latter cut,
the band turned Monk’s tribute to his wife into a blues. The unfortunate thing
about the evening was the house was only half-full owing to the nine inches of
snow that hit Detroit and the surrounding counties. The people who chose to stay home missed one of the best
concerts in the Paradise Jazz Series’ recent
history. Even Moran’s encore was outside the box. The band marched through the crowd,
leading the crowd into the lobby where the band played an encore. Afterwards,
Moran mingled, signed autographs, and snapped selfies as if anxious to greet each concert goer who braved the inclement weather to experience his performance.
