Ralph Moore (born 24 December 1956) is an English

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

saxophonist.

Early life

Moore was born in

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England. His mother was the dancer

Josie Woods Josie Woods (16 May 1912 – 28 June 2008) was a Black British dancer, choreographer and activist. Early life Woods was born Josephine Lucy Wood in Canning Town, London, in 1912. Her father, Charles Wood, was from Dominica, and her mother, Emi ...

, and his father was in the US military. He spent his childhood in Brixton, and after trying various instruments, took up the tenor saxophone at the age of 14. In 1972, he moved to

Santa Maria, California Santa Maria (Spanish language, Spanish for "Mary, mother of Jesus, St. Mary") is a city near the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California in northern Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara County. It is approximately no ...

, to live with his father. His mother had not wanted him to grow up in Brixton. "Around 1975 he moved to Boston, where he played locally and attended the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

. His studies were interrupted when his apartment was robbed and he was shot and seriously wounded, and he never received a degree."

Later life and career

Moore began his professional career with a tour of Scandinavia in 1979. He moved to New York the following year. He was part of

Horace Silver Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s. After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sch ...

's band from 1981 to 1985, including for tours of Europe and Japan, and recordings. He then played with numerous musicians, including

Roy Haynes Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jazz ...

(around 1982–86), Darrell Grant (1986–87),

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

's reunion band (1987),

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

(around 1987–91), and

Gene Harris Gene Harris (born Eugene Haire, September 1, 1933 – January 16, 2000) was an American jazz pianist known for his warm sound and blues and gospel infused style that is known as soul jazz. From 1956 to 1970, he played in The Three Sounds tri ...

(1989–90). Moore's first recording as leader was for

Reservoir Records Reservoir Records is jazz record label founded in 1987 by Mark and Kayla Feldman, with special attention given to a piano series. Its catalogue includes music by Kenny Barron, Nick Brignola, Steve Kuhn, Hod O'Brien, Claudio Roditi Pepper Adams, ...

in 1985. He subsequently recorded for

Landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

, Criss Cross, and

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

. Starting in 1995, he was part of

Kevin Eubanks Kevin Tyrone Eubanks (born November 15, 1957) is an American jazz and fusion guitarist and composer. He was the leader of The Tonight Show Band with host Jay Leno from 1995 to 2010. He also led the Primetime Band on the short lived ''The Jay Le ...

's band for ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

''.

Discography

As leader

* 1985: '' Round Trip'' (

Reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

) * 1987: '' 623 C Street'' ( Criss Cross) * 1988: '' Rejuvenate!'' (Criss Cross) * 1988: ''

Images An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

'' (

) * 1990: '' Furthermore'' (Landmark) * 1993: '' Who It Is You Are'' (

) * 2019: '' Three Score'' (WJ3)

As sideman

With

Kenny Barron Kenny Barron (born June 9, 1943) is an American jazz pianist, who has appeared on hundreds of recordings as leader and sideman and is considered one of the most influential mainstream jazz pianists since the bebop era. Biography Born in Philadel ...

*'' Invitation'' (Criss Cross Jazz, 1991) With

Billy Hart Billy Hart (born November 29, 1940) is an American jazz drummer and educator. He is known internationally for his work with Herbie Hancock's "Mwandishi" band in the early 1970s, as well with Shirley Horn, Stan Getz, and Quest, among others. Bi ...

* '' Rah'' (

Gramavision Gramavision Records is an American record label founded in 1979. Since 1994 it has been a subsidiary of Rykodisc. The label's music is largely jazz, blues and folk oriented but has touched on many other styles and genres. In 1979, Jonathan F.P. ...

, 1988) With

* ''

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'' (Music Masters, 1991) With

Bobby Hutcherson Robert Hutcherson (January 27, 1941 – August 15, 2016) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. "Little B's Poem", from the 1966 Blue Note album '' Components'', is one of his best-known compositions.Huey, Steve. "Components – Bob ...

*''

Cruisin' the 'Bird ''Cruisin' the 'Bird'' is an album by vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson featuring performances recorded in 1988 and released on Orrin Keepnews' Landmark label.

'' (Landmark, 1988) With

Jimmy Knepper James Minter Knepper (November 22, 1927 – June 14, 2003) was an American jazz trombonist. In addition to his own recordings as leader, Knepper performed and recorded with Charlie Barnet, Woody Herman, Claude Thornhill, Stan Kenton, Benny Goo ...

*'' Dream Dancing'' (Criss Cross, 1986) With

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...

* '' Oscar Peterson Meets Roy Hargrove and Ralph Moore'' (1996,

Telarc Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long associ ...

) With

Valery Ponomarev Valery Ponomarev, Russian: Вале́рий Миха́йлович Пономарёв, ''Valery Mikhaylovich Ponomaryov'', (born 1943) is a Russian-born jazz trumpeter. He has lived in the United States since 1973. Ponomarev became interested in j ...

* '' Means of Identification'' (Reservoir, 1985 987 *'' Trip to Moscow'' (Reservoir, 1987) With Rob Schneiderman * ''

Radio Waves Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, typically with frequencies of 300 gigahertz (GHz) and below. At 300 GHz, the corresponding wavelength is 1 mm (short ...

'' (

, 1991) With Superblue * ''Superblue 2'' (1989,

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 ...

) With

Cedar Walton Cedar Anthony Walton Jr. (January 17, 1934 – August 19, 2013) was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and com ...

*''

Mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

'' (Music Masters, 1990

992 Year 992 ( CMXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Worldwide * Winter – A superflare from the sun causes an Aurora Borealis, with visibility as fa ...

as Eastern Rebellion *''

Simple Pleasure ''Simple Pleasure'' is the fourth studio album by Tindersticks. It was released in 1999 on Island Records. The album marked a major departure for the band, as it began to adapt more soul and jazz influences than on their previous recordings. T ...

'' (Music Masters, 1993) as Eastern Rebellion * ''

Composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

'' (

Astor Place Astor Place is a one-block street in NoHo/ East Village, in the lower part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs from Broadway in the west (just below East 8th Street) to Lafayette Street. The street encompasses two plazas at th ...

, 1996 Ray Brown Trio, Moore Makes Four, 1990

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Ralph 1956 births Living people English jazz saxophonists British male saxophonists Criss Cross Jazz artists Enja Records artists Savoy Records artists Landmark Records artists 21st-century saxophonists 21st-century British male musicians British male jazz musicians The Tonight Show Band members Superblue (band) members Reservoir Records artists