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Currently enrolled in the Graduate Level Jazz Studies program at the University of Missouri, Houston native Eddie Moore (Neon Collars) steps back into the arena with his Kansas City based quartet, The Outer Circle.
Following along the auditory edges already lain out by other noteworthy Jazz contemporaries hailing from Houston like Robert Glasper, Moore and his outfit are set to release their first long player, “The Freedom Of Expression“, which to my ears is sounding like it’s going to be a certified “Sleeper Of The Year” within the Jazz scene already. - Bamalovessoul.com
Jazz can absorb just about anything it touches.
Even if there isn’t a mass audience paying attention, the music is always responding to new influences, always expanding somehow, always watching out for its own relevance.
Just ask Eddie Moore, a 27-year-old pianist who’s been in Kansas City about three years and is busy expanding what KC jazz is all about.
With his group Outer Circle, he’s releasing a CD, “The Freedom of Expression,” and celebrating with a show Friday at the Blue Room.
But it might surprise you to learn how this tasteful and intelligent pianist came to jazz.
“I really listened to a lot of hip hop growing up. Lots of it – Roots, Talib Kweli,” he says. “They’re not like how rap is now, all digitalized. You could hear real instruments, like a jazz band.
“At first, I wanted to be a producer,” Moore says. “I knew I had to at least learn harmony, and I realized I needed to learn a little jazz.”
Fortunately, he ended up learning more than a little.
Growing up in Houston, Moore had played piano since he was 4, with some reluctance (“My mom played, and it was something I had to do.”). He played percussion through high school. Then, fresh out of high school, he enrolled in a jazz combo class at Texas Southern University.
“I saw kids playing and soloing. They had freedom on their instruments. I had to learn how to play jazz.
“I never became a producer.”
So Moore earned an undergraduate degree in jazz studies at Texas Southern and gigged around Houston — “not much for jazz gigs. Lots of R&B. We played for a lot of poetry and neo-soul things. I played a lot behind hip-hop events.” But he thought it was necessary to leave town to further his jazz studies and deepen his playing.
Another professor put Moore in touch with Bobby Watson at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and Moore also had family in Kansas City, so it seemed like a good fit. Moore flew up for an audition.
“I met my dad’s side of the family when they came to pick me up at the airport. And I met (bassist) Dominique Sanders at the airport. He said, ‘We have a jam session tonight — are you interested?’ Definitely! They dropped me off at the Blue Room, and that’s when I made the decision to be in Kansas City.”
Moore joined the UMKC graduate jazz program. In the process, he’s gained attention around town for his lyrical playing in the band Shades of Jade. He holds down a supporting role backing the Book of Gaia vocal ensemble, with Angela Hagenbach, Pamela Baskin-Watson and Nedra Dixon. You might also catch him in the reggae band Born in Babylon.
But it’s with this CD that he’s stepping out.
His Outer Circle band, with Sanders on bass, Matt Hopper on guitar and Matt Leifer on drums, plays mainly original music, grooving like crazy but not always in 4/4 time. You can hear influences such as Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner and another cat from Houston, Robert Glasper (“For some reason, his first CD just captivated my soul,” Moore says).
That’s the band that will be on the Blue Room gig, along with, on a few numbers, a three-piece horn section and trumpeter-vocalist-DJ Miles Bonny. “When I first reached out to collaborate with Miles, he told me he’d never performed with a band in Kansas City. That caught me off guard — how is that possible? Let’s do it!”
Moore’s out of school now, having completed his master’s degree at UMKC in December.
“I’m writing a lot, especially now that I’m done with school. I’m waking up every day to practice and write. It’s the first time in my life I’ve had the time.”
And he’s checking out older pianists.
“When I started out listening to jazz I was trying to get my hands on stuff that was modern, looking for things to relate to. That’s where Glasper came in. Now I have to go get everyone he listened to, to get the information from the source.”
He’s checking out Art Tatum, Erroll Garner (“so soulful, that the way he plays melodies is just great”). Just looking for ideas that can enrich his own music and widen the grooves — looking for things that ring true to a generation of jazz players looking at the whole history through a new lens.
“I’m as connected to hip hop influences and R&B as I am to jazz,” he said. “Without hip hop I never would have played jazz. It’s all music.”
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/01/30/4037620/thanks-to-hip-hop-pianist-eddie.html#storylink=cpy
- Kansas City Star
Jazz guitar can be awesome, just ask Wes Montgomery or DJ Premier. A good jazz guitar lick can be a vacuum, sucking you in and creating a world unto itself. Many hip-hop beats are based around little more than a jazz guitar loop and a drum break — it can be that powerful.
This tune by Eddie Moore and The Outer Circle certainly falls into that category. The guitar is not the only star of the show by any means; Eddie Moore’s direction leads to a soft but strong connection between his piano, Matt Leifer’s drums, Dominique Sanders’ bass and — my personal favorite part of this whole, what drives the sweetness of the tune home for me — Matt Hoppers’ guitar. This track is the lead single off the group’s full length debut, The Freedom of Expression, which will be out February 1, 2013, though you can hear a lengthier preview here.
Though Eddie Moore’s name may not ring too strongly outside of hardcore jazz circles at the moment, he definitely has the skill set to break through. This tune and artist comes by recommendation of the great FWMJ of RappersIKnow, who seems to have all areas of Black Texas music in his hard drive - Indieshuffle.com
Once upon a time in Houston, there was this production duo called Neon Collars that later mutated into a full fledged band. They were pretty sweet, but they broke up much to many in Houston’s dismay.
After the break up of Neon Collars, I wasn’t in constant contact with many of the group’s members for quite some time, occasionally running into them in person (e.g. on the streets of Austin during SXSW) or on Facebook Chat.
One afternoon in Late August or early October, Kay called me on the phone to hip me to what Eddie, the band’s live keyboardist, had been up to. Avoiding extinguished flames and rising phoenix metaphors, most of the members of the group went on their separate paths continuing to do music and some just living their lives to the fullest. Eddie Moore ended up enrolling in a Graduate Level Jazz Studies program at University of Missouri in Kansas City and focused on further developing his chops on keys. The results of the study and training and fellowship with other musicians is evident; the music potent.
Continuing the tradition of other great young and contemporary Houston-bred jazz pianists like Jason Moran and Robert Glasper, Eddie Moore, along with his Kansas City based quartet The Outer Circle, is dropping an EP with Rappers I Know in early 2013 titled The Freedom of Expression.
Here, you can stream the first song off the 8 song EP, “Passing By”. - Rappers I know
Discography
The Freedom of Expression
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Bio
The Outer Circle investigates modern influences with those of tradition. Saturated with color, the melodies are lyrics that share my life experiences with the listener. I enjoy using mixed meter in composition to introduce twist and turns to the canvas creating a different mood with every piece that allows the soloist the upmost freedom with line and idea.
Eddie Moore
For Jazz pianist Eddie Moore, the gift of music was imparted on him at an early age. At the urging of his mother, an accomplished singer, Moore started playing piano at the age of four. While immersing himself in the classical genre he was introduced to Jazz legends such as Miles Davis and John Coltrane by his father and heavily influenced by the hip-hop, punk, and neo-soul music of his generation. These influences have informed the eclectic expression of his musicianship. His creative spirit bleeds through genres while his style of improvisation follows in the lineage of the jazz masters.
Moore’s musical journey has led him to study under legendary saxophonists Bobby Watson and Horace A. Young. He also showed his promise as a keyboardist in the Houston-based alternative soul group Neon Collars. During his time in the group, they shared the stage with the Robert Glasper Experiment, Ledisi, Erykah Badu, Bilal, Mos Def and “K” of the hip-hip group The Foundation.
As a Jazz pianist he has performed with Logan Richardson, Maurice Brown, Andre Hayward and Book of Gaia( which includes Angela Hagenbach, Nedra Dixon and Pamela Watson). Moore also showed his versatility as Music Director for the musical ‘Olu’s Dream’ inspired by the children’s book of the same name by author Shane Evans.
Currently Moore resides in Kansas City where he is completing his M.A. in Jazz Studies from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He is also the leader his own group The Outer Circle, who are set to release their debut album entitled “The Freedom of Expression” in January 2013.
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