Jason Moran (musician)

Jason Moran
Moran in Aarhus, Denmark
Background information
Born	(1975-01-21) January 21, 1975 (age 42) Houston, Texas, United States
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer
Instruments	Piano
Website	jasonmoran.com

Jason Moran (born January 21, 1975) is an American jazz pianist, composer and educator, heavily involved in multimedia art and theatrical installations.

Moran recorded first with Greg Osby and debuted as a band leader with the 1999 album Soundtrack to Human Motion. Since then, he has released eight other albums—with his trio The Bandwagon, solo or leading other ensembles—and appeared in about 30 albums as a sideman. He has garnered much critical acclaim and won a number of awards for his playing and compositional skills, which combine elements of post-bop and avant-garde jazz, blues, classical music,stride piano, and hip hop, among others.

Moran was born in Houston, Texas, and grew up in the Pleasantville neighborhood of Houston. His high middle-class parents, Andy, an investment banker, and Mary, a teacher, encouraged his musical and artistic sensibilities at the Houston Symphony, museums and galleries, and through a relationship with John T. Biggers and a collection of their own. Moran began training at classical piano playing, in Yelena Kurinets' Suzuki method music school, when he was six. However, his father's extensive record collection (around 10,000 in 2004), varied from Motown to classical to avant-garde jazz.

As a boy he developed a preference for hip hop music over the piano until, at the age of 13, he first heard the song "′Round Midnight" by Thelonious Monk at home, and switched his efforts to jazz. Monk's childlike melodies, with their many silent spaces, struck him as relatively easy to play and not overly ornate, while the rhythms were reminiscent of hip hop songs, and the harmonies unorthodox. Both jazz and hip hop were part of Houston's skateboarding scene in which he was involved.