Jason Moran & The Bandwagon: A Performance and Demonstration

Performance Guide

Cuesheet

jason moran & the bandwagon A Performance and Demonstration Meet jazz pianist and composer Jason Moran, who Rolling Stone described as “the most provocative thinker in current jazz.”

Jazz is a form of music through which an artist’s individual style clearly emerges and Jason Moran’s work is a good example. Get to know his unique sound as he, along with members of his band The Bandwagon, perform a high energy concert program of well-known jazz standards and original works of music. You’ll also have the opportunity to learn the art of active listening and how to interpret jazz music.

Jason Moran & The Bandwagon: What You Should Know n

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Photo by Scott Suchman

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Moran grew up in Houston, Texas and began playing classical piano at age six. It was not something he enjoyed and for years he wanted to quit. It wasn’t until age 13, when he first heard a jazz record by jazz legend and pianist Thelonious Monk, that Moran’s passion for jazz music was born.

Music education is very important to Moran. He is on the piano faculty at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, and was named the Kennedy Center’s Artistic Advisor for Jazz in 2011.

The Bandwagon includes members Tarus Mateen (bass) and Nasheet Waits (drums). The trio is known for their original, often experimental sounds, which fuse jazz with different types of music, like hip hop and rhythm and blues. The Bandwagon’s unique style has earned them the reputation as “the future of jazz.”

Performances for Young Audiences is made possible by

Jazz: An Evolving Art Form

Setting the Standard

Jazz is truly an American musical form—and many people consider it one of America’s best contributions to the world of music. Jazz first emerged about 100 years ago in the American south, most distinctly in New Orleans, Louisiana. This seaport city served as home to people of African, French, English, Caribbean, and other backgrounds. It became a melting pot for music from these many traditions.

African American musicians fused elements of ragtime, blues, classical, and big brass band sounds to create this distinct new type of music.

Jazz standards refer to popular musical compositions that are widely known and performed, so much so, they have become a standard part of the jazz music repertoire, also known as the “Great American Songbook.” While there is no official list of jazz standards, most of these classic songs were created between the 1920s and 60s for Broadway musicals and films. Since then, each has been performed and recorded countless times by a variety of artists.

After the first jazz recordings were made in 1917, jazz spread across the nation.

It evolved over the decades, helped along by influential musicians. Among them, trumpeter Louis Armstrong (1920s) introduced improvised solos; Duke Ellington (1920s) popularized big band jazz; Benny Goodman and Count Basie (1930s and 40s) started people dancing to the upbeat sounds of swing; Charlie Parker (1940s) broke ground with a faster style called bebop; Miles Davis (1950s) influenced jazz first with his softer, complex “cool” style and then later in the 1960s with fusion jazz; and John Coltrane (1960s) helped pioneer jazz using sounds derived from half– steps, called modal jazz.

fusion The blending of jazz with other musical styles

Musical Language Here are some terms you should know…

improvisation Making up music in the moment, either by performing completely original music or by modifying or changing music that already exists soloing When a musician performs alone syncopation Emphasizing a normally weak note in an unexpected place in a musical rhythm

Additional support for Performances for Young Audiences is provided in part

by The Clark Charitable Foundation; Mr. James V. Kimsey; The Macy*s Foundation; The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Inc.; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; the Park Foundation, Inc.; the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; an endowment from the Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation; the U.S. Department of Education; the Verizon Foundation; Washington Gas; and by generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund, and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas.

Major support for the Kennedy Center’s educational programs is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Learn more about Education at the Kennedy Center at www.kennedy-center.org/education The contents of this Cuesheet do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

Pay attention to how the musicians interact with one another throughout a song. How do they respond to each other when improvising? Taking turns soloing?

Try to identify the melody of the piece being played. Listen for the variations of it by the different instruments.

Darrell M. Ayers Vice President, Education

Cuesheets are produced by ARTSEDGE, an education program of the Kennedy Center. ARTSEDGE is a part of Thinkfinity. org, a consortium of free educational Web sites for K-12 teaching and learning.

What You Should Listen For

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Michael M. Kaiser President

www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge

Since then, artists like Jason Moran have continued to explore and expand the musical genre.

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David M. Rubenstein Chairman

© 2012 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Moran and The Bandwagon have worked on several projects that infuse jazz into other fine art forms including dance, theater, and visual arts. From left to right, Waits, Moran, Mateen.

Listen Up! To learn more about jazz visit www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge and click the tag “jazz”