The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County presents
Jason Moran Performs the Music of Duke Ellington: My Heart Sings
With special guest Alicia Hall Moran and the Frost Jazz Orchestra
Jason Moran
Jazz pianist, composer and artist Jason Moran hails from Houston. He’s an alumnus of the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Jaki Byard. Upon graduation, he studied with Andrew Hill and Muhal Richard Abrams. Moran’s 18-year relationship with Blue Note Records produced nine highly acclaimed recordings. His groundbreaking trio The Bandwagon (with bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits) is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary. Moran’s performances with Cassandra Wilson, Charles Lloyd and the late Sam Rivers reveal the scope of Moran’s partnerships and musicmaking. He’s also worked with visual artists Adrian Piper, Joan Jonas, Glenn Ligon, Adam Pendleton, Lorna Simpson, Kara Walker, Stan Douglas and others. Recent awards and fellowships include the MacArthur Foundation, US Artists, Doris Duke Foundation and Ford Foundation.
Moran collaborated with his wife, mezzo-soprano and composer Alicia Hall Moran, as named artists in the 2012 Whitney Biennial, constructing BLEED, a five-day series of live performances spanning Motown to acupuncture and dance. They also created WORK SONGS for the 2015 Venice Biennial and continue to produce albums for their record label, YES RECORDS.
Since his first album, Moran has produced 14 albums, created scores for Ava DuVernay’s films Selma and 13th and author Ta-Nehisi Coates’ staged version of Between the World and Me. History is a recurring theme for Moran, who has mounted monumental touring works for Thelonious Monk (IN MY MIND: Monk at Town Hall 1959), Fats Waller (Fats Waller Dance Party, plus Grammy-nominated album All Rise: An Elegy for Fats Waller) and James Reese Europe (James Reese Europe and the Absence of Ruin).
In 2018, Moran’s first solo museum exhibition opened at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, and traveled to ICA/Boston. The exhibition opened at the Whitney Museum of American Art in September 2019. Moran is currently artistic director for jazz at The Kennedy Center, teaches at New England Conservatory and Jazz Ahead and curates the Artist’s Studio series for Park Avenue Armory in New York.
Alicia Hall Moran
Alicia Hall Moran, mezzo-soprano, is a multidimensional artist performing and composing opera, art, theater and jazz. Ms. Moran made her Broadway debut in the Tony-winning revival The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, starring as Bess on a celebrated 20-city American tour. "Moran finds the truth of the character in her magnificent voice," the Los Angeles Times said.
A unique vocalist performing across the fine arts and in her own contemporary work, Ms. Moran has been nurtured by and tapped by celebrated visual artists including Carrie Mae Weems, Adam Pendleton, Joan Jonas, Ragnar Kjartansson, Simone Leigh, Liz Magic Laser; curator Okwui Enwezor; choreographer Bill T. Jones; musicians Bill Frisell and Charles Lloyd; the band Harriet Tubman; diverse writers from Simon Schama to Carl Hancock Rux; and institutions at the forefront of art and ideas worldwide.
Ms. Moran's artist residencies include Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, MASSMoCA and National Sawdust center for original music. She's been commissioned by ArtPublic/Miami Art Basel, Museum of Modern Art, The Kitchen, Histories Remixed/Art Institute Chicago and Prototype Festival: HERE Performing Arts/Beth Morrison Projects.
She has been steadily rewriting a template for the classical-pop singer, with quiet yet critically acclaimed works such as HEAVY BLUE, her first album; The Motown Project; The Five Fans; Breaking Ice: The Battle of the Carmens; and Black Wall Street, a personal take on the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 that premiered at the River to River Festival in New York after developing at National Sawdust and The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture/Women in Jazz—institutions dedicated to keeping creativity and risk-taking alive at the critical level Ms. Moran inhabits.
In partnership with husband and collaborator Jason Moran, she was awarded a 2017 Art of Change fellowship by the Ford Foundation, and has generated work for the Venice Biennale, Whitney Biennial, Walker Art Center, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Carnegie Hall, Symphony Center in Chicago and Elb Philharmonie in Hamburg, among many others.
Ms. Moran's transcendent vocal performances travel fluidly from jazz clubs (such as The Village Vanguard, The Stone, Jazz@Lincoln Center, Highline Ballroom, San Francisco Jazz, Kennedy Center) through solo turns with symphony orchestras (including National Symphony Orchestra Pops, Chicago Philharmonic, Austin Symphony, 1B1 Orchestra/Norway, Roanoke Symphony, Dayton Philharmonic); new contemporary orchestral works by composers such as Gabriel Kahane (Oregon Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Grant Park Symphony) and Bryce Dessner of The National; the opera stage and operatic turns for film and theater.
John Daversa
John Daversa is a multi-Grammy-winning trumpeter, EVI player, composer and educator whose groundbreaking work continues to expand the boundaries of jazz. Renowned for his fearless innovation and profound musical storytelling, he seamlessly bridges genres and traditions, creating works of striking depth and originality.
A prolific recording artist, Daversa has released over 15 albums as a leader and contributed to countless other albums and films. He is an Emmy nominee, the recipient of John Daversa Day from the City of Miami Beach and a distinguished educator honored with the Philip Frost Award for Excellence in Teaching and Scholarship.
As the host of The John Daversa Podcast, he engages in thought-provoking conversations with influential artists, further shaping the dialogue around music and creativity. As professor and chair of studio music and jazz at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, Daversa is a visionary leader dedicated to shaping the future of jazz, inspiring the next generation while continuing to push the boundaries of the art form.
Frost Jazz Orchestra
Award-winning Frost Jazz Orchestra is renowned for its outstanding musicianship, inspired performances and exceptional soloists, as well as its commitment to original compositions and arrangements. Under the direction of Dr. John Daversa, this premier large jazz ensemble continues its storied legacy, performing worldwide and collaborating with some of the most celebrated artists in jazz.
Frost Jazz Orchestra has released numerous acclaimed recordings, showcasing a dynamic range of music that spans traditional big band repertoire to groundbreaking contemporary works. As part of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, the ensemble serves as a platform for innovation and artistic excellence, shaping the next generation of jazz musicians.
Frost Jazz Orchestra
Supporting sponsors
Institutional sponsor
