Famoudou
Don Moye is one of the most sought-after percussionists of our
time. He is recognized throughout the world for his artistic
standards and his brilliant musical abilities. With more than three
decades of critical acclaim for his musical achievements and
exceptional technique, Moye also is equally respected as a inspiring
teacher, ensemble player, and exponent of African music.
As
founding member and leader of the Sun Percussion Summit, a group
dedicated to the development and traditions of African percussion
music, Moye has recorded and performed internationally. His concerts
have won praise for "clarity, stylistic breadth, rhythmic
complexity and musical erudition. By evoking the sound of Ancient
Africa, nascent New Orleans jazz, vintage be-bop, post-60's
avant-garde and other musical languages, Moye's Sun Percussion
Summit shed light on the entire history of jazz, as well as music
that pre-dated it...To hear so many crisply articulated ideas fired
off and developed at once, to hear a single performer breaking out
of the ensemble for an expansive solo was to witness anew the West
African origins of the jazz tradition."
Born
in New York, Moye comes for a family of musicians. During high
school, he began playing the drums as well as the congas and bongos.
In 1968, Moye left the United States and went to Europe with the
Detroit Free Jazz Band. Playing all over Europe, he eventually
settled in Rome and worked at RAI (Italian Radio and Television).
During a visit to Tangiers in 1969, Moye met one of his major
influences, Randy Weston, and worked extensively with Moroccan
musicians. Moving to Paris later, Moye met and studied with yet
another major influence, Art Taylor. By 1972, Moye had moved to
Chicago and was permanent drummer with The
Art Ensemble of Chicago (AEC), since December 1969.
Beyond
his work with the Sun Percussion Summit and The Art Ensemble of
Chicago, Moye regularly performed and recorded with Lester Bowie's
Brass Fantasy, The Leaders, and The Kirk Lightsey Trio, among
others. With these groups, Moye has garnered numerous accolades and
amassed a prolific and extensive discography numbering more than 120
recordings, including awards for Record of the Year from Down
Beat Critics Poll, Jazz Album of the Year from Melody Maker, Record
of the Year from Stereo Review, Grand Prix Diamant du
Festival Montreux. His work on ECM Records has earned critical
praise from Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and Audio magazine.
Moye
has collaborated with musical giants including greats such as Don
Pullen, Von Freeman, Randy Weston, Steve Lacy, Marcello Melis,
Oliver Lake, Billy Cobham, Roy Haynes, Sun Ra, Fontella Bass, Jay
haggard, Dave Burrell, Arthur Blythe, Chico Freeman, Hamiet Bluiett,
Cecil McBee, Gene Ammons, David Murray, Pharaoh Sanders, Juma
Santos, Mor Thiam, Johnny Board, Muhal Richard Abrams, and Henry
Threadgill.
In
his ongoing position as co-founder and artistic director of the Art
Ensemble of Chicago Education Foundation, Moye remains committed to
the development of young musicians. "Through the discipline of
music, I hope to develop myself to the highest level as a human
being, to bring to the public a greater awareness of the value and
role of Great Black Music as a universal art form and a vehicle of
peace, and to create a legacy for future generations of
musicians." His workshops at conservatories and colleges have
attracted students from the University of Michigan, Malcolm X
College, Yale University, the Australian Jazz Federation, Wolliaston
Dance Studio (Paris), Antioch College, Northeastern University, The
Norwegian Jazz Federation, Notre Dame University, Governors State
University, Howard University, Vanderbilt University, the Jamaican
School of Music, Williams College, the New Mexico Jazz Federation,
the Pomigliano Jazz Federation, and the Association Jazz Punta
Giara. This fall 2005 Moye travels to Germany, Portugal, Spain,
Italy, and France for a series of concerts and workshops.
http://aacmchicago.org/members/Moye.html
Amina
Claudine Myers & Henry Grimes, NYC, '07,
photo
by Jamie Anderson