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Special Events Roster (pdf)
Artist
Roster (pdf)
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James Moody
 …….still
in the mood since 1925!
The millennium marks Jazz legend, James Moody’s 75th birthday and more
than five decades in the music industry.
“Every time I begin to play,” states Moody, “I don’t hold back, I
always do my best.” Whether he’s playing tenor sax, the alto, soprano
or flute, Moody does so with the fluidity, deep resonance and wit that
have made him one of the most consistently expressive and enduring
figures in modern jazz.
Born in Savannah, Georgia, on March 26th, 1925, and raised in Newark,
New Jersey, Moody joined the influential BeBop big band of Dizzy
Gillespie in 1947. A year later he made his recording debut as a
leader (James Moody and His BeBop Men), using players from the
Gillespie band.
In 1949, Moody moved to Paris, where he became best known for, “Moody’s
Mood for Love.” The song became a hit. In 1951 Moody returned to the
States and Dinah Washington toured with the influential James Moody
Septet, which integrated Jazz and R&B. The 1950s also saw Moody
working with Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt and recording several albums
as a flautist. Moody was one of the first bebop saxophonists to embrace
the flute.
In 1963, he rejoined Gillespie performing in the trumpeter’s quintet
for the remainder of the decade. Moody’s career received a boost in the
mid 80’s with a Grammy Award nomination for his solo on Manhattan
Transfer’s ‘VOCALESE” album.
In the 90s he teamed up again with his lifelong friend, Dizzy
Gillespie, to tour Europe and the United States as a member of the
famous United Nations Orchestra, whose live recording at the Royal
Festival Hall in London received a Grammy Award for ‘Best Jazz Big Band
Release’. In 1995 Telarc released ‘Moody’s Party’, a live
recording of his 70th birthday celebration at the Blue Note in New York
City. In April 1996, Moody released his first album for Warner Bros.
Records, the refreshingly romantic and effervescent ‘Young at Heart’.
The energetic artist has since been touring extensively in America and
Europe. Moody has received Honorary Doctorate Degrees from the
Florida Memorial College and from the Berklee School of Music, and has
been inducted into the international Jazz Hall of Fame. Moody
continues to surprise audiences with his vitality, innovative style of
playing and his great sense of humor. He remains one of the most sought
after artists for master classes, workshops and lectures, because, not
only does he inspire young talent through his high standard of
musicianship and positive outlook on life, but also through his ability
to communicate his experiences in and around the jazz world.
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