Renaissance man; band leader of multiple great groups; astute follower of fashion, design, architecture and active collector of visual art; tour de force solo pianist; forward-thinking composer; self-directed jazz historian and good friend of the Walker, Jason Moran was just awarded the coveted MacArthur “Genius” Award.
Moran has performed at the Walker five times, in a wide variety of contexts, since 2001. One was a stunning music-video theatrical concert called Milestone (involving collaborative compositions with conceptual artist Adrian Piper), a moving farewell solo for ex-Walker director Kathy Halbreich, a brilliant large group post-modern tribute to Thelonious Monk, and unique collaborations with Greg Osby and Sam Rivers. He was not only one of the few performing artists to receive a MacArthur Award this year, but he was also one of the youngest. Congrats to Jason for this much deserved honor!