Jason Moran was born January 21, 1975 in Houston, Texas. He began studying the piano at age 6, but longed to quit the instrument until he first experienced the sounds of jazz legend Thelonious Monk, an experience that renewed his interest in music and established an early role model in his creative development.
Moran went on to attend Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts where he became an active member of the jazz program, playing in the big band and leading a jazz quartet. His aspirations and talents eventually led him to New York City where he continued his education at the Manhattan School of Music, a school to which he was drawn by the prospect of studying with the pianist Jaki Byard, a jazz leftist who became Moran’s teacher for 4 years and a role model for life. It was during this time that Moran also took lessons from other forward-thinking pianists such as Muhal Richard Abrams and Andrew Hill, creative musicians who imparted a profound influence on Moran, and encouraged him to find his own distinct voice.
In 1997, while Moran was still a senior in college, the drummer Eric Harland, a high school classmate of Moran’s, recommended him to saxophonist Greg Osby who was in the process of assembling a band for a European tour. Osby hired Moran based solely on Harland’s description of his playing, and the match proved to be auspicious. The connection between Osby and Moran was present as soon as they hit the bandstand, and Moran has become a fixture in Osby's touring and recording bands ever since.
Moran made his professional recording debut on Osby’s 1997 Blue Note CD, Further Ado, which brought him to the attention of Blue Note executives who signed the pianist to his own record deal shortly thereafter. The association with Blue Note is fitting, placing Moran in the lineage of innovative pianist/composers whose career beginnings were nurtured by the veteran jazz label, musicians such as Monk, Herbie Hancock and Herbie Nichols.
Moran’s debut recording as a leader, Soundtrack to Human Motion, which found him in the company of Osby, Harland, vibraphonist Stefon Harris and bassist Lonnie Plaxico, was released in 1999 to great critical praise (Ben Ratliff of The New York Times named it the best album of the year). The following year’s Facing Left found Moran stripping down to a trio with bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits, and prompted JazzTimes Magazine to declare the album "an instant classic." Moran augmented the trio for his third Blue Note release, Black Stars, adding avant-garde icon Sam Rivers, who plays saxophone, flute and piano on the recording. Gary Giddins of the Village Voice exclaimed "Black Stars is possibly a Blue Note benchmark, definitely one of the year’s outstanding discs."
Moran has performed as a sideman with such artists as Cassandra Wilson, Joe Lovano, Don Byron, Steve Coleman, Lee Konitz, Von Freeman, Ravi Coltrane, and Stefon Harris. He was the youngest honoree of the New Work Commission by the San Francisco Jazz Festival. He was also awarded a grant from Chamber Music America’s "New Works: Creation and Presentation" program, which is funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. For these two grants Moran used sampled conversations as vocal triggers. These compositions would be the foundation for many of Moran’s new compositions. Jazziz magazine wrote “Moran is blessed with the courage of his own convictions—part scavenger and part seer, fluent in the cut/paste/splice devices of hip hop production….”
In 2002, Moran released his universally acclaimed solo piano disc Modernistic. The Cork Jazz Festival awarded Moran the 2002 Guiness Rising Star Award. 2003’s The Bandwagon, culled from the trio’s six-day stint at New York’s Village Vanguard, earned the team of Moran-Mateen-Waits a title as "the best new rhythm section in jazz" (The New York Times) and caused Rolling Stone to proclaim Moran "the most provocative thinker in current jazz."
The Jazz Journalists Association awarded Moran with the "Up and Coming Jazz Musician" Award in 2003. He has appeared on the cover of JazzTimes (with Joe Lovano and on the cover of Down Beat with his mentor Andrew Hill. Moran topped the Down Beat Critics Poll in three categories in 2003 and 2004 – Rising Star Jazz Artist, Rising Star Pianist, Rising Star Composer. In 2002 and 2003, the First Run Film Festival awarded Moran "Best Original Score" for Pagan Harlemann’s "Two Three Time" and Chris Dillon’s "All We Know of Heaven". New York’s Nightlife Awards honored Moran with awards for "Best Jazz Combo – The Bandwagon" and "Best Performance – Solo Piano at The Jazz Standard".
He has been lecturer/instructor at the Banff Center for The Arts, Denmark’s’ Vallekilde Jazz Camp, Skidmore College, Manhattan School of Music, The New School, the School for Improvised Music (SIM) and his alma-mater, High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA). In 1994, Moran’s family created HSPVA’s “Moran Scholarship Award,” which is awarded annually to one outstanding junior and one outstanding senior in jazz. Moran took over responsibility for the selection process in 2001 as a commitment to education.
Jason's sixth release on Blue Note, "Same Mother," was released in February '05. This blues based recording adds guitarist, Marvin Sewell, to the Bandwagon. Same Mother is "a reconsideration of the blues that doesn't depend on clichéd dynamics and song structure' (The New York Times).
His seventh (and most recent) release as a leader on Blue Note, "Artist in Residence," is a groundbreaking result of multiple successful commissioned projects for art and performing arts organizations such as the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN, the Dia Foundation in New York, and Jaz at Lincoln Center. The album features collaborations between Moran and various guests including performance/conceptual artist Joan Jonea and conceptual artist Adrian Piper as well as Abdou Mboup on African percussion, Ralph Alessi on trumpet, as well as Moran's wife, Alician Hall Moran, a clasically trained operatic soprano.
Jason was named Playboy Magazine's first ever Jazz Artist of the Year (2005).
Joga
Jason Moran Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That happen
Follow the dot
Coincidence
Makes sense
Only with you
You don't have to speak
Emotional landscapes
They puzzle me
Then the riddle gets solved
And you push me up to this
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
State of emergency
Is where I want to be
All that no-one sees
You see
What's inside of me
Every nerve that hurts
You heal
Deep inside of me, oo-oohh
You don't have to speak
I feel
Emotional landscapes
They puzzle me confuse
Then the riddle gets solved
And you push me up to this
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
State of emergency
Is where I want to be
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
Emotional landscapes
They puzzle me
Then the riddle gets solved
And you push me up to this
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
State of emergency
Is where I want to be
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
State of emergency
State of, state of
How beautiful
Emergency
Is where I want to be
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
State of emergency
Is where I want to be
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
The song "Joga" by Jason Moran is a beautiful and haunting tribute to the power of love and connection. The lyrics describe a sense of unexplained accidents and coincidences that are only understood when shared with another person. The singer finds solace and meaning in these emotional landscapes, which sometimes puzzle and confuse him, but are ultimately solved by the love and support of his partner.
The phrase "state of emergency" takes on multiple meanings in this song. On the one hand, it could refer to a feeling of urgency and intensity that arises when one is deeply connected to another person. This feeling is both beautiful and overwhelming, as the singer describes it as a place where he wants to be. But "state of emergency" could also refer to the sense of crisis and chaos that can arise in life, and the comfort of having a partner who can help navigate those difficult moments.
Overall, the song "Joga" is a powerful exploration of the deep emotional connections that can sustain us through life's challenges. Through the singer's lyrics, we see how love can heal and support us in ways we never thought possible.
Line by Line Meaning
All these accidents
Unexpected events or occurrences
That happen
Take place or occur
Follow the dot
They are connected or related
Coincidence
A remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection
Makes sense
Becomes understandable or clear
Only with you
Only in the context of being with the person being addressed
You don't have to speak
The person being addressed does not need to articulate their thoughts aloud
I feel
The artist can understand and sense the underlying emotions present
Emotional landscapes
The internal realm of feelings, moods and emotions people experience
They puzzle me
The artist finds the complexity of understanding certain emotional qualities perplexing
Then the riddle gets solved
The solution to the emotional complexities arise
And you push me up to this
The person being addressed helps elevate the artist's emotional state
State of emergency
An emotional level that indicates a significant shift in emotional state
How beautiful to be
The singer considers the experience worthwhile and valuable
All that no-one sees
The hidden, internal struggles and challenges of the singer
You see
The person being addressed is capable of seeing beyond the surface and into the artist's internal life
What's inside of me
The artist's internal thought process and emotions
Every nerve that hurts
Painful experiences that deeply affect the singer
You heal
The person being addressed has the power to provide comfort and relief to the singer
Deep inside of me, oo-oohh
The internal experience of the artist runs deep and has a profound effect
State of, state of
Repetition emphasizes the importance and significance of the emotional state
Emergency
A serious and intense emotional experience
Is where I want to be
The singer considers the state of emergency as desirable even though it may be challenging
State of emergency
Re-emphasizes the emotional intensity of the experience
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BJORK GUDMUNDSDOTTIR, SIRGURJON BIRGIR SIGURDSSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind