A creative artista, who espouses originality, Jason Moran has sidestepped the critics with his modern mainstream approach that blends in elements from all over the spectrum. The pianist and composer has been reviewed with eyes and ears that paint his melodies as unmemorable and academic. It’s posible that some of the criticism has been tempered by a natural dislike for advertising hype and a backlash against the “new Young lion” tag. Some of the criticism is of the “technician versus emotion” variety. While both áreas are subjective, many tend to disagree on what constitutes deep emotion or heartfelt expression in a performance.
Moran’s second álbum ignores the critics, Rather tan display lingering, romantic melodies on his sleeve, the pianist has chosen to continue with what he does best. Like his early influence Thelonious Monk and his teachers Jaki Byard & Muhal Richard Abrams, Jason Moranapplies a considerable amount of energy to each piece. That
forcé tends to weave several lines at once, while involving his bassist and drummer in every aspect. Together, they explore and come up with unpredictable displays every time. The pianist ‘s own thoughts about this álbum are included on his web site
http://www.jasonmoran.comDuke Ellington’s “Wig Wise” and “Later” built from quiet, passionate beginnings to energetic adventures. Jaki Byard’s “Twelve” travels up-tempo and bright, while “Fragment of a Necklace” skips sofly as a danceable ballad. Moran’s six compositions exude drama, interaction, variety of direction, and teamwork. Continuing along his own path, the pianist takes a winning team to bat witout reliance on any kind of script. - Jim Santella
If pianist Jason Moran served notice to the too-easily-satisfied jazz scene with his stunning 1999 debut, Soundtrack to Human Motion, then Facing Left, his remarkable follow-up, is the dynamic delivery of that threat. While ostensibly working within a progressive post-bop tradition, this multitalented protege of saxophonist Greg Osby draws from so many different musical streams, explodes so many tired devices and plays with such focused ambition that it's not only foolish to try categorizing his work, but it's impossible not to view him as one of the most striking originals to emerge in jazz in years. With rare technical assurance and a bold sense of vision, Moran has made a record for the ages.
Supported with stunning intuition by bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits, Moran is a man with a plan; each of the album's 13 tunes operates with some kind of distinctive agenda or compositional gambit.
On Mateen's Monkish "Another One," for example, the trio tosses the usual head-solo-solo-head structure out the window in favor of an exhilaratingly organic flow of ideas with all three players constantly injecting ideas; the piece is one long solo, but one that never abandons the loose melodic-harmonic script. On "Thief Without Loot," which glides along a nice off-kilter funk groove, Moran created the melody by transcribing a Japanese woman's speech inflectoins. "Murder of Don Fanucci," music from Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather II, finds Moran and Mateen playing the melody straight, with an almost leaden gravity, to frame Waits, who shifts his focus with nearly every measure, from staccato patterns that suggest a machine-gun to heavy march rhythms that sound aptly funereal. Whether interpreting Bjork's lovely "Joga" or Ellington's "Wig Wise"-a forgotten gem from Money Jungle-one can hear traces of Moran's mentors-Andrew Hill, Jaki Byard and Muhal Richard Abrams-in the dissonant intervals, the sorrowful sustain and the chunky rhythms, but he's not biting anyone's stuff.
Facing Left is an instant classic. - Peter Margasak
Tracks
01. Later (Duke Ellington)
02. Thief Without Loot (Jason Moran)
03. Joga (Björk/Björk/Gundmundsdottir/Sigurion Sigurdssom)
04. Wig Wise (Duke Ellington)
05. Yojimbo (Maturu Sato)
06. Another One (Tarus Mateen)
07. Lies Are Sold (Jason Moran)
08. Murder of Don Fanucci (Carmine Coppola)
09. Twelve (Jaki Byard)
10. Three of the Same from Two Different (Jason Moran)
11. Fragnebt of a Necklace (Jason Moran)
12. Battle of the Cattle Acts (Jason Moran)
13. Gangsterism on Wood (Jason Moran)
TARUS MATEEN bass
MASHEET WAITS drums
JASON MORAN piano, organ Hammond B3, Fender Rhodes
Recorded at Systems Two, Brooklyn, N.Y. 15 & 16 January, 2000
Blue Note – 7243 5 23884 2 4
