Don Moye

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Don Moye
Don Moye Art Ensemble of Chicago Kongsberg Jazzfestival 2017 (001246).jpg
Don Moye at the 2017 Kongsberg Jazzfestival
Background information
Birth nameDonald Moye, Jr. [1]
Also known asFamoudou Don Moye
Born (1946-05-23) May 23, 1946 (age 77)
Rochester, New York, U.S.
Genres Jazz, free jazz, avant-garde jazz
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Drums, percussion
Years active1960s–present
Labels Black Saint, AECO

Donald Moye, Jr. [1] (born May 23, 1946), [2] known as Famoudou Don Moye, is an American jazz percussionist and drummer. He is most known for his involvement with the Art Ensemble of Chicago and is noted for his mastery of African and Caribbean percussion instruments and rhythmic techniques. [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Moye was born in Rochester, New York, United States, [1] and performed in various drum and bugle corps (including the Rochester Crusaders [1] ) during his youth, as well as church choir. Moye has commented that he really "didn't have an affinity for the bugle… and just kind of gravitated towards drums." [4] He also took violin lessons during this time. Moye was exposed to jazz at an early age since his mother worked for a local social club, that had a jazz club next door, which hosted musicians such as Kenny Burrell and Jimmy McGriff. His family was also musically inclined; his uncles played saxophones and his father played drums. Also, his mother used to take him to various performances as a child, such as "opera under the stars" and to see Mahalia Jackson. [4]

Career

Don Moye Don Moye.jpg
Don Moye

Moye went on to study percussion at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. [2] Moye lived in a building with trumpeter Charles Moore, who became his mentor. Moye also played in the groups African Cultural Ensemble, which included musicians from African countries such as Ghana, [4] and Detroit Free Jazz, [2] which was Moore's band. It was at this time that he first encountered the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) due to the revolving door of musicians in and out of Moore’s residence. In early 1968, Moore’s band traveled to Europe and Moye decided to live there for the next couple of years, touring and visiting the continent as well as Northern Africa.

Art Ensemble of Chicago and The Leaders

By 1969, the AEC had become a quartet of Roscoe Mitchell, Joseph Jarman (saxophones), Lester Bowie (trumpet) and Malachi Favors Maghostut (bass), with no full-time drummer though all the musicians doubled on various percussion instruments. The group crossed the Atlantic Ocean and arrived in Europe to perform throughout the continent. Moye at the time was rehearsing and performing in Paris, France, at the American Center for Students and Artists, where musicians such as Art Taylor and Johnny Griffin practiced collectively. When Mitchell met with Moye again at the Center, he asked Moye to join his group, which was already known as the Art Ensemble of Chicago, [2] and had issued several recordings, including three releases on the European label BYG Actual. These recordings did feature percussion but all percussion was played by Mitchell, Bowie, Favors, or Jarman.

After Moye returned to the States in the early 1970s, he played with the Black Artists Group in St. Louis, Missouri before settling in the Chicago, Illinois area. He was also in a duo with fellow percussionist Steve McCall who later was a member of Air with Henry Threadgil while still playing with the AEC. In the mid-1980s, Moye joined The Leaders, a jazz group consisting of AEC member Bowie, Chico Freeman, Arthur Blythe, Cecil McBee, and Kirk Lightsey. [2] Moye has also recorded numerous solo albums as leader of his own band. Moye toured and recorded again with the AEC in the 1990s, which was dealt a blow with the 1999 death of Bowie. Moye refers to his own style of drumming as "Sun Percussion". Other groups he led in the 1990s include the Joseph Jarman/Famoudou Don Moye Magic Triangle Band and the Sun Percussion Summit (with Enoch Williamson), the latter of which was "a group dedicated to exploring the traditions of African-American percussion music." [5]

Recognition

Discography

As leader or co-leader

With the Art Ensemble of Chicago

TitleYearLabel
Chi-Congo 1970Paula
Les Stances a Sophie 1970 Nessa
Live in Paris 1970 Freedom
Art Ensemble of Chicago with Fontella Bass 1970 America
Phase One 1971America
Live at Mandell Hall 1972 Delmark
Bap-Tizum 1972 Atlantic
Fanfare for the Warriors 1973Atlantic
Kabalaba 1974 AECO
Nice Guys 1978 ECM
Live in Berlin 1979 West Wind
Full Force 1980ECM
Urban Bushmen 1980ECM
Among the People 1980Praxis
The Complete Live in Japan 1984 DIW
The Third Decade 1984ECM
Naked 1986DIW
Ancient to the Future 1987DIW
The Alternate Express 1989DIW
Art Ensemble of Soweto 1990DIW
America - South Africa 1990DIW
Thelonious Sphere Monk with Cecil Taylor 1990DIW
Dreaming of the Masters Suite 1990DIW
Live at the 6th Tokyo Music Joy 1990DIW
Fundamental Destiny with Don Pullen 1991AECO
Salutes the Chicago Blues Tradition 1993AECO
Coming Home Jamaica 1996Atlantic
Urban Magic 1997 Musica
Tribute to Lester 2001ECM
Reunion 2003 Around Jazz/Il Manifesto
The Meeting 2003 Pi
Sirius Calling 2004Pi
Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City 2006Pi

With The Leaders

As sideman

With Hamiet Bluiett

With Kenny Clarke, Andrew Cyrille, and Milford Graves

With Chico Freeman

With Julius Hemphill

With Joseph Jarman

With Oliver Lake

With Cecil McBee

With Marcello Melis

With Don Pullen

With Alan Silva

With Sirone

With Wadada Leo Smith

With Randy Weston

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art Ensemble of Chicago</span> American avant-garde jazz group

The Art Ensemble of Chicago is an avant-garde jazz group that grew out of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) in the late 1960s. The ensemble integrates many jazz styles and plays many instruments, including "little instruments": bells, bicycle horns, birthday party noisemakers, wind chimes, and various forms of percussion. The musicians would wear costumes and face paint while performing. These characteristics combined to make the ensemble's performances both aural and visual. While playing in Europe in 1969, five hundred instruments were used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lester Bowie</span> American jazz trumpeter and composer (1941–1999)

Lester Bowie was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and co-founded the Art Ensemble of Chicago.

Joseph Jarman was an American jazz musician, composer, poet, and Shinshu Buddhist priest. He was one of the first members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and a member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malachi Favors</span> American jazz bassist

Malachi Favors was an American jazz bassist who played with the Art Ensemble of Chicago.

<i>Live at the 6th Tokyo Music Joy</i> 1990 live album by Art Ensemble of Chicago & Lester Bowies Brass Fantasy

Live at the 6th Tokyo Music Joy is a live album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy recorded in February 1990 for the Japanese DIW label. It is the only recording to showcase both of the groups that Lester Bowie established and features performances by the Art Ensemble, the Brass Fantasy and both bands.

<i>Live in Paris</i> (Art Ensemble of Chicago album) 1974 live album by Art Ensemble of Chicago

Live in Paris is a double live album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded in Paris and first released on the BYG Actuel label in Japan as two separate volumes in 1974. It was issued on CD by Charly Records under the title 'Live In Paris' presumably to avoid confusion with the Delmark 'Live At Delmark Hall' album, and then later issued in the US, with the same artwork and design, by Fuel 2000 Records in the US. It features performances by Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell, Malachi Favors Maghostut, Fontella Bass and Don Moye. Despite reissues identifying it as "Live In Paris" and claiming a date of 5 October 1969, it was actually a radio broadcast from performances in Chateauvailon on 13 August 1970.

<i>Nice Guys</i> (album) 1979 studio album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago

Nice Guys is an album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago, recorded in May 1978 and released on ECM the following year—their debut for the label. The quintet features trumpeter Lester Bowie, saxophinists Joseph Jarman and Roscoe Mitchell and rhythm section Malachi Favors Maghostut and Famoudou Don Moye.

<i>The Third Decade</i> 1985 studio album by Art Ensemble of Chicago

The Third Decade is an album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded in June 1984 and released on ECM the following year.

<i>Phase One</i> (Art Ensemble of Chicago album) 1971 studio album by Art Ensemble of Chicago

Phase One is an album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded in Paris in February 1971 and originally released on the French America label then reissued in the US on Prestige Records the following year. It features Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell, Malachi Favors Maghostut and Don Moye performing two side-long pieces dedicated to John Coltrane and Albert Ayler respectively.

<i>The Complete Live in Japan</i> 1988 live album by Art Ensemble of Chicago

The Complete Live in Japan is a live album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded in Tokyo, Japan in 1984 and released in 1988 on the Japanese DIW label. The original single LP titled Live in Japan was originally issued in 1985.

<i>Fundamental Destiny</i> Live album by Art Ensemble of Chicago

Fundamental Destiny is a live album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Don Pullen recorded in June 1991 in Frankfurt, Germany and released in 2007 on the group's AECO label. It features performances by Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell, Malachi Favors Maghostut, and Don Moye with Don Pullen joining on piano.

<i>Tribute to Lester</i> 2003 studio album by Art Ensemble of Chicago

Tribute to Lester is an album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded in September 2001 and released on ECM in August 2003—their first release on the label since The Third Decade (1984). The ensemble, now a trio, features reed player Roscoe Mitchell and rhythm section Malachi Favors Maghostut and Don Moye. The album was recorded following Joseph Jarman's temporary retirement from the group and the death of founding member Lester Bowie, to whom it is dedicated.

<i>Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City</i> 2006 live album by Art Ensemble of Chicago

Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City: Live at the Iridium is a live album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded in April, 2004 at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City and released in 2006 on the Pi Recordings label. It features performances by Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell and Don Moye with trumpeter Corey Wilkes and bassist Jaribu Shahid replacing the late Lester Bowie and Malachi Favors Maghostut.

<i>Sirius Calling</i> 2004 studio album by Art Ensemble of Chicago

Sirius Calling is an album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded in April, 2003 in Madison, Wisconsin and released in 2004 on the Pi Recordings label. It features performances by Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell and Don Moye with Malachi Favors Maghostut on what would be the final album before his death. It was recorded on April 24–26, 2003 in Madison, WI.

<i>Among the People</i> 1981 live album by Art Ensemble of Chicago

Among the People is a live album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago originally released in 1981 as an LP on the Greek Praxis label, and reissued on CD as Live in Milano on the Golden Years of New Jazz label in 2001.

<i>Kabalaba</i> 1978 live album by Art Ensemble of Chicago

Kabalaba is a live album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1974 and released on their AECO label in 1978. It features performances by Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell, Malachi Favors Maghostut, and Don Moye along with Muhal Richard Abrams.

<i>Salutes the Chicago Blues Tradition</i> 1993 live album by Art Ensemble of Chicago

Salutes the Chicago Blues Tradition is a live album recorded on 7 July 1993 in Geneva, Switzerland by the Art Ensemble of Chicago and released on their own AECO label. It features performances by Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell, Malachi Favors and Don Moye with Chicago Beau, Amina Claudine Myers, Frank Lacy, James Carter and Herb Walker.

<i>The Magic Triangle</i> 1979 studio album by Don Pullen, Joseph Jarman & Don Moye

The Magic Triangle is an album by American jazz pianist Don Pullen, saxophonist Joseph Jarman and drummer Don Moye, recorded in 1979 for the Italian Black Saint label.

<i>Afrikan Song</i> 1996 studio album by Moye and Williamson

Afrikan Song is an album by percussionists Famoudou Don Moye and Enoch Williamson. It was recorded in 1995 and 1996 at Sparrow Sound Design in Chicago, Illinois, and was released on CD in 1996 by AECO Records, a label founded by the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and Southport Records. On the album, Moye and Williamson are joined by members of a group called Sun Percussion Summit & More.

<i>Jam for Your Life!</i> 1985 studio album by Famoudou Don Moye

Jam for Your Life! is an album by percussionist Famoudou Don Moye. It was recorded at Sparrow Sound Design and North Shore Studios in Chicago, Illinois. An initial version, with material recorded in September 1985, was released on cassette later that year by AECO Records, a label founded by the Art Ensemble of Chicago. In 1991, AECO reissued the album, with material recorded during 1983–1991, on CD with a different track order and an additional track. On the album, Moye is joined by multi-instrumentalist Ari Brown, vocalist Luba Raashiek, and nearly a dozen additional musicians.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Memmott, Jim. "Let's bang the drum for this jazz master with Rochester roots". Democratandchronicle.com. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1772. ISBN   0-85112-939-0.
  3. ↑ Chris Kelsey. "Don Moye biography at Allmusic" . Retrieved 2007-01-05.
  4. 1 2 3 Fred Jung. "Fireside Chat with Don Moye". Jazzweekly.com. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
  5. ↑ "History Makers: Don Moye". Thehistorymakers.com. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
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