Quentin Moore: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Much has been recently written about the "graying" of jazz and the audience who listens to it, young musicians seem to continually discover (and rediscover) its enduring value—and not just the value of jazz as its own standalone genre, but the benefit of incorporating aspects of jazz, such as improvisation and arrangement, into music of every type.

Quentin Moore is one such musician. Though his 2009 debut, Vintage Love, and 2011 follow-up,"Quentinized" (Mixtape), both self-produced, unapologetically present large, steaming warm slices of R&B and soul, he speaks freely of the jazz elements and influences in his music, in particular the impact of studies and friendships formed at the University of North Texas, from which Moore graduated with a Human Resources degree in 2007.

Moore grew up surrounded by the sound of the church organ, drums, and vocals from the soulful gospel music of St. Stephen's Baptist Church in his hometown of Austin, Texas. While playing drums through middle school and high school, his taste expanded into soul and R&B. But at the University of North Texas (UNT), Moore was introduced by peers and professors to jazz, while he simultaneously expanded his instrumental prowess to include electric guitar and bass. Since then, his music and life have never been the same.

Moore wrote his entire Vintage Love debut, which suggests a cross between a young Stevie Wonder, from his keyboards and arrangements, and a young Maxwell or Brian McKnight, from his smooth, sure vocals, and also provided all the lead vocals and much of its instrumentation. One of the top selling Urban R&B/Soul releases on CDBaby.com, Vintage Love highlights include the lushly evocative "Sex Song" a quiet storm that thunders and billows like Teddy Pendergrass on the tomcat prowl, and the energizing "Whoop Your Jazz (jam)."

By graduating from UNT, Moore joins a long line of alumni that includes Jimmy Giuffre, Bob Belden,Conrad Herwig, Lyle Mays, saxophonist Bill Evans, Bob Dorough, and Norah Jones (and, among others, Roy Orbison!). The prestigious UNT One O'Clock Lab band has received six Grammynominations—most recently, for Best Large Jazz Ensemble and Best Instrumental Composition ("Ice Nine," by Steve Wiest) in 2009—and will perform in November 2011 with special guest Terell Staffordfor the UNT 51st Annual Fall Concert.

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=40027

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