''Soundtrack to Human Motion'' is the debut album led by American pianist and 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 ...

which was recorded in 1998 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 the following year.Blue Note: album details
accessed June 7, 2018

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 ...

retrospective review by Heather Phares called it an "impressive first album" stating "Jazz pianist/composer Jason Moran's debut, ''Soundtrack to Human Motion'', approaches his music with an abstract, impressionistic outlook".

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 David Adler said, "Can we all just agree that this is the debut of the year, if not the record of the year? Jazz has seen its share of excellent young players, but 24-year-old pianist Jason Moran really raises the bar with his superb ''Soundtrack to Human Motion'' ... Watch this man closely and see what develops". 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 ...

, Duck Baker wrote "Moran has plenty of pianistic ideas, and repeated listens reveal how he is moving into his own way of dealing. ... This is good music that can only get better if Moran stays his course".Baker, D
JazzTimes Review
accessed June 7, 2018

Track listing

All compositions by Jason Moran except where noted # "Gangsterism on Canvas" – 4:37 # "Snake Stance" – 4:41 # "

Le Tombeau de Couperin ''Le Tombeau de Couperin'' (''The Couperin's Grave'') is a suite for solo piano by Maurice Ravel, composed between 1914 and 1917. The piece is in six movements, based on those of a traditional Baroque suite. Each movement is dedicated to the me ...

/ States of Art" (

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

, Jason Moran) – 5:23 # "Still Moving" – 5:56 # "JAMO Meets SAMO" – 5:35 # "Kinesics" – 3:04 # "Aquanaut" – 6:22 # "Retrograde" – 6:25 # "Release from Suffering" – 5:15 # "Root Progression" – 5:22

Personnel

– piano *

Greg Osby Greg Osby (born August 3, 1960) is an American saxophonist and composer. Biography Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Osby studied at Howard University, then at the Berklee College of Music. He moved to New York City in 1982, where he played with Jaki ...

– alto saxophone, soprano saxophone *

Stefon Harris Stefon DeLeon Harris (born March 23, 1973) is an American jazz vibraphonist. Biography A native of Albany, New York, Harris intended to work for the New York Philharmonic until he heard the music of Charlie Parker. During the 1990s he recorded ...

– vibraphone *

Lonnie Plaxico Lonnie Plaxico (born September 4, 1960) is an American jazz double bassist. Biography Plaxico was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a musical family, and started playing the bass at the age of twelve, turning professional at fourteen (playing both ...

– bass *

Eric Harland Eric Harland (born November 8, 1976; in Houston, Texas) is an American jazz drummer. In addition to leading his own group, Harland is a member of Charles Lloyd's Quartet, Dave Holland's Prism, James Farm with Joshua Redman, and Taylor Eigsti' ...

– drums

References

{{Authority control 1999 debut albums Jason Moran (musician) albums Blue Note Records albums