"The thing I love about jazz is that it's a language that's constantly in a state of evolution."
This quote by Jason Moran emphasizes the dynamic and evolving nature of Jazz music. He suggests that unlike static languages or systems, Jazz is fluid and adaptable, continually changing and progressing with time. This reflects the spirit of innovation and creativity inherent in Jazz, as musicians constantly reinterpret, challenge, and expand upon its musical foundations to create new expressions and styles, ultimately enriching its rich cultural history.
"In jazz, silence can be just as important as sound."
This quote by Jason Moran highlights the significance of both sound and silence in jazz music. Silence is not simply an absence of sound, but a deliberate pause that heightens the impact of the notes played, creating suspense, anticipation, and emotional depth. It allows for interpretation and improvisation, making each performance unique and personalized, just as every moment in life has the potential to be meaningful.
"Jazz is like a river. It has to keep moving or it stagnates."
This quote by Jason Moran suggests that just as a river must flow continuously to avoid stagnation, jazz music should also evolve and progress over time to maintain its vitality and relevance. In other words, the essence of jazz lies in its ability to adapt, innovate, and move forward, embracing new ideas while preserving its rich history and traditions. This metaphor highlights the dynamic and ever-changing nature of jazz music, which thrives on the interplay between past, present, and future.
"I'm always thinking about the next thing I want to learn."
This quote highlights Jason Moran's continuous curiosity and thirst for knowledge. It indicates that he is not content with what he already knows, but rather consistently seeks out new information and skills, thereby demonstrating a commitment to personal growth and development. It suggests a dynamic, evolving mindset, where learning is not an end goal but a lifelong process of exploration and discovery.
"We're all searching for that place where we can be free, and music can take you there."
This quote by Jason Moran suggests that music serves as a powerful means to attain freedom – not just literal freedom, but also emotional, mental, or spiritual liberation. In other words, music has the ability to transport us to a place where we can escape life's constraints and find our true selves, or experience feelings of joy, peace, and connection that may be elusive in our daily lives. This idea is universal; across cultures and throughout history, music has played an essential role in human society as a means of expressing ourselves, healing, and finding solace during challenging times.
Are we, as humans, gaining any insight on how to talk about ourselves and how something as abstract as a Charlie Parker record gets us into a dialogue about our emotions and our thoughts? Sometimes we lose sight that the music has a wider context. So I want to continue those dialogues. Those are the things I want to foster.
- Jason Moran
If you hear Thelonious Monk play a run that goes from the top of the piano, OK, he has opened up the Grand Canyon with that. He's the river that's carved this entire space that we call the Grand Canyon. He does that with one run. He lets you know, like, what the possibility of the sound of the piano can do.
- Jason Moran
Monk's music is often defined as enigmatic, eccentric and humorous - as if it had little to do with the pain he may have endured to create his art. But I believe Monk routinely shared his history with his audience, no matter how unpalatable that history was, and it is for that very reason that his music connects with people around the globe.
- Jason Moran
As a listener, we're looking for that person who kind of excites the molecules within us - who knows how to tell the story that resonates deeply to our core and almost prompts us into action. Fats Waller has been that person for decades. When people need a lift, sometimes they go to him. I know I do.
- Jason Moran
For a while, I was working on transcribing rap lyrics and then converting them into rhythmic patterns on the piano. And so in my mind, when I was taking a solo, I would be saying the lyrics and trying to play actual notes to their rhythms. Now, the influence just comes in and out in my playing.
- Jason Moran
Freedom is the thing that has attracted me most to jazz. Within improvisation, you're really able to express something that maybe I'm not so adept at expressing via language. So I develop a language through the instrument to tell stories. So it's kind of this freedom of thought and freedom of expression that kind happens.
- Jason Moran
I don't want any of my records to sound like one style throughout. That's why I choose different grooves and songs: tunes that are sensitive and slow as well as pieces that are abstract and fast. The approach I want to take with my records is to give the listener a variety of grooves, concepts, and composers.
- Jason Moran
The great jazz radio stations have a duty to continue evolving their format just as audiences ask the musicians to evolve. How do you do that with a form of music that has 100 years of recorded history? How do you also keep it contemporary so you don't isolate your listeners? These are major questions.
- Jason Moran
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