JASON MORAN & THE BANDWAGON
Village Vanguard178 7th Avenue South, New York 10014
Jason Moran brings The Bandwagon to the Village Vanguard as a trio: Moran on piano, Tarus Mateen on electric bass and Nasheet Waits on drums. The group is known for exploratory, interactive jazz that brings tradition into contact with modern sounds. Their work has included engagements with music by Thelonious Monk, Fats Waller and James Reese Europe, and Moran has sometimes used a minidisc player as an unofficial fourth member, feeding clips and found sounds into the trio’s responses.
Moran is a pianist and composer whom NPR describes as a conceptualist, reworking standards and building music from visual-art ideas and sampled sounds. He has worked with saxophonist Greg Osby and, on Black Stars, with saxophonist and pianist Sam Rivers. NPR calls Mateen an “active, fluid electric bass player” and Waits a “versatile modern-day drum hero.” The New Yorker calls The Bandwagon an “explosive unit” that is “interactive to its core,” while a Jazz Desk review praised the group’s depth and beauty, writing that its performances make “the past and the present truly coexist in the now.”
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.