Artist in Residence
(Blue Note)
This African-American pianist’s journeys into classical music and hip-hop — rather than sticking to familiar jazz routines — must occasionally baffle his record company, if not his audience. Here he is one moment backing the ravishing tones of a mezzo- soprano, the next mimicking the rhythms of human speech on the keyboard (as Steve Reich has done).
This album contains music created for performance art installations, but listeners fearing wall-to-wall wackiness will be soothed by a series of warmly memorable tunes. No other pianist combines the blues with a taste for adventure quite like Moran, whether playing lullabies, gospel or improvising.
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JOHN BUNGEY