JASON MORAN & THE BANDWAGON
Village Vanguard178 7th Avenue South, New York 10014
Jason Moran & The Bandwagon bring their long-running piano trio to the Village Vanguard. Moran plays piano with Tarus Mateen on bass and Nasheet Waits on drums. The booking is presented simply as a Bandwagon performance, with no guest, release celebration, tribute, or special set announced. In the Vanguard’s triangular basement room, the trio’s close interplay will be the night’s focus.
Houston native Moran is a pianist and composer whose Bandwagon has built a deep repertoire of originals and inventive arrangements. The trio is known for taking standards apart and building new works from Moran’s compositions and sampled sounds, in a sound the Whitney Museum calls “fluid and miscalculated.” Moran first emerged in saxophonist Greg Osby’s quartet and has performed or recorded with Cassandra Wilson, Wayne Shorter, Charles Lloyd, Dave Holland, and Marian McPartland. The New York Times has called the Bandwagon “one of the most reliably thrilling groups in jazz,” while DownBeat praised it as “historically and intellectually resourceful” and “unassailably brilliant.”
A narrow basement staircase leads to a triangular room with a red curtain and a stage at the point, where musicians play for a small audience of 123. Tables open like spokes from the stage, and the walls hold portraits of jazz legends. The acoustics are excellent, and the only sound before the music begins is the hum of the room. No food is served, only drinks at a bar. Shows start at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., with seating beginning at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. respectively. The atmosphere is focused entirely on the music, with silence requested before the concert begins.