Post by Aggie77 on Nov 25, 2006 23:14:52 GMT -5
Article published Nov 25, 2006
Jeri Rowe
Metro Columnist
GREENSBORO — Mondre Moffett, as slick as Esquire, has the cool thing down. He's always in some sharp suit.
But it's his hands. Watch his hands. He'll clench, clap and dance his fingers on the off beat and work hard to bring out the beauty of music.
Then, eyes shut, fingers dancing, in a voice as mellow as public radio, he'll say something like "C'mon, baby, c'mon" as he listens to the student musicians in front of him take their jazz to heights they never imagined.
These students from N.C. A&T remember what Moffett has told them. Play with fire, always wear a tux when you perform and don't disrespect the music.
They don't. The man they call "'Dre" won't let them.
"The notes, structure and chord changes are just tools," he says. "To be creative, you have to play like it's your last chance. It's like 'What are you going to say, man?'"
A&T is no jazz school. That one is on the other end of Market Street.
At UNCG, students perform at Lincoln Center, play in the Miles Davis Jazz Studies Program and pass by the trumpet Davis used in his legendary recording "Kind of Blue" that's on display in the Music Recital Hall .
But A&T has Moffett, who comes from a family as musically rich as the Marsalis family. He's played with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, traveled the world with his dad's band and counts as face-to-face mentors jazz greats such as Sonny Rollins, Pharaoh Sanders and, yes, Miles Davis.
And, oh yeah, his godfather is Ornette Coleman.
www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061125/NEWSREC0101/61124021 <== Full Article
Jeri Rowe
Metro Columnist
GREENSBORO — Mondre Moffett, as slick as Esquire, has the cool thing down. He's always in some sharp suit.
But it's his hands. Watch his hands. He'll clench, clap and dance his fingers on the off beat and work hard to bring out the beauty of music.
Then, eyes shut, fingers dancing, in a voice as mellow as public radio, he'll say something like "C'mon, baby, c'mon" as he listens to the student musicians in front of him take their jazz to heights they never imagined.
These students from N.C. A&T remember what Moffett has told them. Play with fire, always wear a tux when you perform and don't disrespect the music.
They don't. The man they call "'Dre" won't let them.
"The notes, structure and chord changes are just tools," he says. "To be creative, you have to play like it's your last chance. It's like 'What are you going to say, man?'"
A&T is no jazz school. That one is on the other end of Market Street.
At UNCG, students perform at Lincoln Center, play in the Miles Davis Jazz Studies Program and pass by the trumpet Davis used in his legendary recording "Kind of Blue" that's on display in the Music Recital Hall .
But A&T has Moffett, who comes from a family as musically rich as the Marsalis family. He's played with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, traveled the world with his dad's band and counts as face-to-face mentors jazz greats such as Sonny Rollins, Pharaoh Sanders and, yes, Miles Davis.
And, oh yeah, his godfather is Ornette Coleman.
Age: 53
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Education: Bachelor of arts degree from New College in California; master's degree in performance and composition from New York University; working on a doctorate in music education from Boston University
Family: Wife Diane and three daughters. Eustacia, 27, recently earned her master's in divinity from Princeton University; Jessica, 24, is a third-grade teacher in New Jersey; Kayla, 14, is a student at Early College at Guilford.
What he's listening to: Branford Marsalis' "Bragtown," Kenny Garrett's "Beyond The Wall"
On Garrett: "That's my boy. He released his latest record, and he wanted my class to hear it, tell me what they thought and call him so he could take it all down. I know he's waiting by the phone."
On getting into jazz: "I remember my dad coming off that band stand and seeing this euphoria. He'd just start hugging the other musicians. And that's why I wanted to be a musician. That heart to heart, soul to soul."
On jazz itself: "Love. That one word sums it up. That is the motivation to do it. Without love, there is no jazz." Email this Article www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061125/NEWSREC0101/61124021 <== Full Article
