Many thanks to Nick Moran '81 who has traveled back to the Abbey, braving a snowstorm, to work with our jazz band. This is Nick's second excursion to his alma mater this year; the first visit, in December, was devoted to a master class with the Abbey orchestra followed by an evening concert by Nick and his band. On January 30 and 31, Nick worked directly with our student-musicians and with Performing Arts Director Jeff Kerr to coach and to share his love of jazz music. This year, the Abbey's jazz band has expanded in size and enthusiasm. Nick's experience and vast knowledge of jazz has been a gift to the group.
A native of New York City, Nick Moran began playing trumpet at age ten, switching over to the guitar at thirteen. His early musical influences were the British rock guitarists Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Peter Frampton. Moran played in several rock groups throughout high school and college, and also studied classical guitar. He first discovered the music of George Benson at age fifteen. Other musical influences include Jim Hall, Wes Montgomery, Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.
Nick's study of jazz began informally in 1991 with arranging and ear training classes at the Fachbereich Musik in Mainz, Germany, where he also played guitar and trumpet in the university big band. He returned to New York in 1998 and began formal jazz studies in early 1999, receiving his B.F.A. in Jazz Performance from the City College of New York in 2001. His teachers at City included Ray Santos, Scott Reeves and guitarist Rick Stone. He did rhythm section studies for two years with bassist Ron Carter and studied composition with pianist/arranger Mike Holober.
Nick leads two bands and is also active as a solo performer on seven-string guitar. He performs throughout the New York City area and has played in venues such as the Brooklyn Museum, the New York Bahá'í Center, Louis 649 and the Garage. Musicians he has played with include the Ray Santos Orchestra, organist Akiko Tsuruga, trumpeter Shunzo Ohno, bassists Tom Hubbard and Marco Panascia, guitarists Adam Rafferty, Rick Stone, Nick Russo and Russ Spiegel, pianists Cliff Korman and Burt Eckoff.
Nick is also a recording engineer and producer. Notable projects include Coba's "Cancion Mandala," the second cd by multi-instrumentalist and composer Sebastian Cruz on Chonta Records. Nick lives with his family in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Stay in touch with Nick, his music and news, at http://www.nickmoranmusic.com/home/index.php
View excerpts from Nick's December master class at the Abbey: