海角论坛

Jason Moran opened his tenure as Distinguished Artist in Residence last week with a discussion and performance to celebrate the 100th birthday of jazz legend Thelonious Monk. (Photo: Kuna Malik Hamad/Georgetown 海角论坛)

December 14, 2017 鈥� , Georgetown鈥檚 new Distinguished Artist in Residence, gave a lecture and performance last week to celebrate the 100th birthday of jazz legend Thelonious Monk.

鈥�,鈥� held this past Thursday at the Gonda Theatre, featured a three-part program in which the jazz pianist explored thoughts about Monk, talked about the sense of place in music and gave a short performance.

, professor of and in the 海角论坛 and an affiliated professor of (jazz), introduced Moran, who took the stage and promptly began discussing the role music 鈥� especially Monk鈥檚 music 鈥� played in his upbringing.

Biggest Fan

Moran recalled a vivid memory of his parents listening to Thelonious Monk鈥檚 鈥溾�� while watching muted television news coverage of the plane crash that killed Texas Congressman and Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Mickey Leland.

鈥淔rom that point on, I couldn鈥檛 ever separate that I was just hearing a song,鈥� Moran said. 鈥淚t was always, where am I? What is happening outside of the room? What鈥檚 the relationship to everything else around it?鈥�

鈥淚n that moment, watching my parents in a place of mourning, listening to Thelonious Monk, was how I would understand how to move forward,鈥� he added. 鈥淪o instantly, I became the biggest Thelonious Monk fan.鈥�

Burgeoning Career

In describing his early career 鈥� moving from Houston to New York, studying at the and his critically acclaimed early work with 鈥� Moran emphasized the importance of a sense of place, which he said wasn鈥檛 a common factor among modern jazz musicians.

鈥淢aybe an opera student might get that, but a jazz musician just learns to hunch over the instrument,鈥� Moran said. 鈥淢y generation was mostly taught to sit down and play, but other eras didn鈥檛 have that mentality.鈥�

Moran鈥檚 well-received work, both solo and with the group Bandwagon, drew attention beyond the jazz community in the 2000s. He created a much lauded , received a , scored six films (including Ava DuVernay鈥檚 and ), and became the 鈥檚 artistic director for jazz.

Preservation of Place

In a 2015 at the , the jazz pianist recreated long-demolished New York jazz venues such as the Savoy and the Three Deuces.

鈥淸The Savoy] is a dollar store now. It鈥檚 a nice dollar store, but a dollar store nonetheless,鈥� Moran said. 鈥淪o I thought, instead of just mythologizing what happened there, why don鈥檛 we make a version of the Savoy Ballroom stage?鈥�

At the Georgetown event last week, he called for the preservation of important sites in musical history that are still standing 鈥� such as New York鈥檚 Village Vanguard 鈥� as active spaces for people to experience and create music.

Active Spaces

鈥淗ow do we turn the corner on active spaces?鈥� he asked. 鈥淲e need to preserve these places, not as mausoleums, but as active environments.鈥�

Following the discussion of Monk and the role of place in music, Moran gave a 20-minute performance and opened up the room for a question-and-answer session.

His next event as Distinguished Artist in Residence will take place in Spring 2018.