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!
Get Walker Reader in your inbox. Sign up to receive first word about our original videos, commissioned essays, curatorial perspectives, and artist interviews.