''Artist in Residence'' is an album by pianist/composer

Jason Moran Jason Moran may refer to: * Jason Moran (criminal) (1967–2003), Australian mobster * Jason Moran (musician) Jason Moran (born January 21, 1975) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator involved in multimedia art and theatrical inst ...

recorded in 2006 and released on the

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

label.Blue Note: album details
accessed June 8, 2018 The album features compositions commissioned by the

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in the United States and, t ...

, the

Dia Art Foundation Dia Art Foundation is a nonprofit organization that initiates, supports, presents, and preserves art projects. It was established in 1974 by Philippa de Menil, the daughter of Houston arts patron Dominique de Ménil, Dominique de Menil and an h ...

and

Jazz at Lincoln Center Jazz at Lincoln Center is part of Lincoln Center in New York City. The organization was founded in 1987 and opened at Time Warner Center in October 2004. Wynton Marsalis is the artistic director and the leader of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orches ...

Reception

The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review by Thom Jurek called it "a far-reaching jazz record combining elements of post-bop, New Orleans jazz, funk, blues and even post-20th century classical music to Moran's array of shades and colors to play with" and stated "People may initially have a hard time with ''Artist in Residence''. But it moves so freely and yet so purposely that it draws the listener into its unique soundworld slowly but deliberately, and offers plenty for the effort".

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

reviewer Mark F. Turner said, "This music is art that can be interpreted on multiple levels, depending upon one's background. Compared to Moran's earlier works, ''Artist In Residence'' may be more or less accepted by the mainstream, but fans familiar with his prodigious exploits should find more than enough here to satisfy them until his next release". In

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

, John Fordham wrote "Jason Moran is another contemporary African-American jazz pianist with broad tastes and a strong sense of cultural history. ... he is more inclined to use today's street rhythms, free jazz, and a cut-and-paste attitude to all kinds of material, his own included".Fordham, J
The Guardian Review
accessed June 8, 2018 The

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

review by Will Layman observed "this, my friends, is what we need more of in jazz: a great diversity of style and reference coming together through the singular vision of a terrific artist: Jason Moran. And if Major US Arts Institutions are ready, willing, and able to fund this kind of thing, then all the better. It's the kind of thing that could give music in academia a good name".Layman, W
PopMatters Review
accessed June 8, 2018 Not all reviewers were united in praise. In

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growth ...

, Steve Greenlee noted "during several listens to ''Artist in Residence'', the same question kept nagging at me: With six four-star albums under his belt in six years, what convinced Moran that collecting this music was a good idea? It’s not only that the music doesn’t coalesce; it’s also that it’s full of gimmickry ... Moran, despite some underdeveloped compositions, lays down some beautiful passages on his solo tracks. But ultimately this music doesn’t belong together". In

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

Geoffrey Himes Geoffrey Himes is an American music critic who has written weekly for ''the Washington Post'' since 1977. He also wrote for '' No Depression'' as a contributing editor in its first print era in the late 1990s to the early 2000s and has written for ...

wrote "This disc doesn't match Moran's recent masterpieces, 2003's "The Bandwagon" and 2005's "Same Mother," but it confirms that Moran is still pushing jazz into new territory".Himes, G
The Washington Post Review
accessed June 8, 2018

Track listing

All compositions by Jason Moran except where noted # "Break Down" – 3:17 # "Milestone" (Alicia Hall Moran, Jason Moran) – 3:34 # "Refraction 2" – 3:52 # "Cradle Song" – 4:27 # "Artists Ought to Be Writing" – 3:49 # "Refraction 1" – 6:16 # "Arizona Landscape" – 3:07 # "Rain" – 11:53 # "

Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing "Lift Every Voice and Sing" is a hymn with lyrics by James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) and set to music by his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson (1873–1954). Written from the context of African Americans in the late 19th century, the hymn is a pra ...

" (

John Rosamond Johnson John Rosamond Johnson (August 11, 1873 – November 11, 1954; usually referred to as J. Rosamond Johnson) was an American composer and singer during the Harlem Renaissance. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, he had much of his career in New York ...

) – 4:53 # "He Puts on His Coat and Leaves" – 4:52

Personnel

– piano *

Marvin Sewell Marvin Sewell is a blues/jazz guitarist, who has been called maybe "the greatest guitarist you've never heard of". He was born and grew up in Chicago, where he attended the Chicago Musical College at Roosevelt University. Since 1990, he has been b ...

– guitar *

Tarus Mateen Tarus Mateen, also known as Taurus Mateen and Tarus Dorsey Kinch (born October 21, 1967, Bakersfield, California) is an American double-bass and electric bassist, who works in jazz, pop, and R&B idioms.Gary W. Kennedy, "Tarus Mateen". '' The Ne ...

– bass, double bass *

Nasheet Waits Nasheet Waits is an American jazz drummer. Son of percussionist Freddie Waits, Nasheet Waits is a New York native who has been active on the jazz scene since early in his life. Before pursuing a music career, he studied psychology and history a ...

– drums *

Ralph Alessi Ralph Alessi (born March 5, 1963) is an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and ECM recording artist. Alessi is known as a virtuosic performer whose critically-acclaimed projects include his Baida Quartet, with Jason Moran, Drew Gress, and Nashee ...

– trumpet (track 8) * Abdou M'Boup –

djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...

, kora,

talking drum The talking drum is an hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, whose pitch can be regulated to mimic the tone and prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather tension cords, which allow the player to change the pitc ...

(track 8) *

Joan Jonas Joan Jonas (born July 13, 1936) is an American visual artist and a pioneer of video and performance art, and one of the most important artists to emerge in the late 1960s and early 1970s.soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

(track 2) *

Adrian Piper Adrian Margaret Smith Piper (born September 20, 1948) is an American conceptual artist and Kantian philosopher. Her work addresses how and why those involved in more than one discipline may experience professional ostracism, otherness, racial ...

– sampled voice (tracks 1 & 5)

References

{{Authority control 2006 albums Jason Moran (musician) albums Blue Note Records albums