James Moody passes

[David Gitin]

A sweet man, great spirit, sharp social observer, modest about his talents, always working to be 'better.' I treasure the times I've seen him and the 'hangs' we had in 2009. Condolences to Linda.

[Denis]

RIP James Moody.

Long time ago heard James at Keystone Korner. This is indelibly etched in my mind.

Benny's From Heaven

[Peter Friedman]

Another elder statesman of jazz has left us. The numbers are shrinking rapidly. James Moody was a wonder jazz musician.

I am glad I had the opportunity to see/hear him live a number of times.

R.I.P.

[BFrank]

Terry Gross is replaying an interview with him on Fresh Air today.

[John Tapscott]

Another elder statesman of jazz has left us. The numbers are shrinking rapidly. James Moody was a wonder jazz musician.

I am glad I had the opportunity to see/hear him live a number of times.

R.I.P.

Yes, I heard him in Toronto a number of years ago, at the old Bourbon Street club, backed by a local Toronto rhythm section. It was a most enjoyable show. A friend and I arrived early and had the front seat. As James was getting set up, one of us asked him if he could play "Anthropology". We had heard it on one of his recent Muse LPs. He said "No problem", and made the usual jazz musician's joke, "Oh, I finally found the person who bought the album." We figured he'd play the tune somewhere down the set. Instead he picked up the alto, turned to the rhythm section, called "Anthropology" and kicked off a rapid tempo. Now the drummer on the gig was Claude Ranger who always played with a cigarette dangling from his lips and a beer at easy reach. Well, neither of those were in place as James started and it was rather humorous to watch Claude keep the tempo with with hand while trying to sort out these necessities. James was burning through his choruses oblivious to what was going on behind him. At last it all came together (sort of), but as far as we could tell Claude never said a word to James the rest of the night.

R.I.P James Moody - giver of jazz joy.

[Guest Bill Barton]

Great story, John, thanks for sharing that...

Unfortunately I never had a chance to hear him in performance, but his recordings continue to please and often surprise me. R.I.P., Moody.

Check the solo on this:

[Harold_Z]

RIP James.

He was a very nice man.

[Patrick]

With a tear in the eye, and a big smile thinking of the great listening past and present (saw only two fairly recent shows, but enjoy several recordings), just gotta proclaim ......... MOODY!!!

[Chuck Nessa]

I first saw Moody in 1962 (I think) with Dizzy. I last saw him in an all nite diner in Chicago (a few years ago) - I was having a late night snack and Moody was having breakfast. We exchanged pleasantries across the counter. He was one of a kind.

[medjuck]

I saw him with Dizzy in the '60s and then as a leader a few years ago at which point he spent nearly as much time telling jokes as he did playing. But they were pretty good jokes.

[sidewinder]

A good obituary writeup for Mr Moody in today's Daily Telegraph.

Never realised he'd played in Liberace's band.

Moody Obit

Edited December 11, 2010 by sidewinder

[JSngry]

Don't think he was actually in Liberace's "band", just think that he was in the hotel staff/pit orchestra who accompanied Liberace in Vegas.

Nowadays, it's mostly all "shows" with prerecorded backing tracks.

[mikelz777]

I'm unfamiliar with James Moody but I may have heard his playing with someone else without knowing it. What are some of his "shouldn't miss" recordings? Funds are a bit tight right now so I just ordered his 4-CD Quadromania set for $5.95 to get the most bang for my buck and get some exposure to his early work spanning 1941-1955. I tend to like an artist's early work so it's probably a good starting point for me.

[Gheorghe]

James Moody means so much to me. I remember the first time I heard him on record was on that “Miles Davis-Tadd Dameron” album from the Paris Jazz Festival 1949. With all due respect to Miles, I payed the same attention to Moody´s solos, which are surprising modern for that time.

Of course I became very aware of what he´s doing, enjoyed everything, his stuff with Dizzy, his own recordings, everything.

The first time I saw him live was at a club in my hometown Vienna, that was in 1998 I think. Art Farmer was in the audience and there was a moving encounter of them two old friends during intermission.

I was there with my wife, Moody was playing fantastic. At the end of the set he shook hands with us and said something like “thanks for not smoking”. Of course we said we must thank him for his music, for his contribution in general to the music.

One year later we spent our holiday in Florida, Miami. And believe it or not. Moody was in town, he played at “Van Dike´s” and needless to say we were in the audience. Before the first set, James Moody came in and went towards to the stage with his instrument bags. When he passed by our table, he stopped, looked at us , and said, I remember you, you from Vienna, I remember that gig, Art Farmer was there. Incredible! Here was that big star, who travels around the whole world and has millions of fans, and he remembered us!

[alocispepraluger102]

James Moody means so much to me. I remember the first time I heard him on record was on that “Miles Davis-Tadd Dameron” album from the Paris Jazz Festival 1949. With all due respect to Miles, I payed the same attention to Moody´s solos, which are surprising modern for that time.

Of course I became very aware of what he´s doing, enjoyed everything, his stuff with Dizzy, his own recordings, everything.

The first time I saw him live was at a club in my hometown Vienna, that was in 1998 I think. Art Farmer was in the audience and there was a moving encounter of them two old friends during intermission.

I was there with my wife, Moody was playing fantastic. At the end of the set he shook hands with us and said something like “thanks for not smoking”. Of course we said we must thank him for his music, for his contribution in general to the music.

One year later we spent our holiday in Florida, Miami. And believe it or not. Moody was in town, he played at “Van Dike´s” and needless to say we were in the audience. Before the first set, James Moody came in and went towards to the stage with his instrument bags. When he passed by our table, he stopped, looked at us , and said, I remember you, you from Vienna, I remember that gig, Art Farmer was there. Incredible! Here was that big star, who travels around the whole world and has millions of fans, and he remembered us!

i wrote this in my blog today:

on a much sadder note, octogenarian jazz reedist james moody, with a legendary career spanning through the 1940s, has passed to another place.

moody's effortless, tasteful, unmatched, fluid flights, whether it was on soprano, tenor, or flute, through the melodies and chords have delighted and comforted me since the early 60s.

there was a rare grace in moody's music, opposed to the adventurous troubled flights of technique, sound, and emotion displayed by many of his contemporaries.

between numbers of his live performances, his extended witty humorous repartee offered brief refuge from the deeper cares of the world.

james moody will be missed.

jazz has lost another great master.

i have lost a lifelong musical friend.

Edited December 11, 2010 by alocispepraluger102

[Swinging Swede]

This saddened me. I saw James Moody with the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band in the summer of 2005. He was still playing fairly well, frequently smiling and also scatting on a number.

I did not know that he went to a school for deaf. Must that not have affected his musical abilities somehow? I have heard of famous jazz musicians losing their hearing at later stages of their careers, but not having a problem all along.

Moody went all the way back to the early bebop era, having first recorded with Dizzy Gillespie in 1946. Do we have any other musicians from the bebop era still living any longer?

[sidewinder]

This saddened me. I saw James Moody with the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band in the summer of 2005. He was still playing fairly well, frequently smiling and also scatting on a number.

NorthSea? I think that was in 2005 - he also did some scat singing with Roberta Gambarini. The band was directed by Slide Hampton.

Edited January 7, 2011 by sidewinder

[Swinging Swede]

Same tour, but this was in Gothenburg. Yes, he scatted with Roberta Gambarini, the band was fronted by Slide Hampton, and I also remember Roy Hargrove, Paquito D'Rivera and former Basie drummer Dennis Mackrel. Excellent concert.

[Mark Stryker]

Today would have been Moody's 90th birthday. As it happens, just yesterday I finished a freelance project in which Moody appeared as spirit, sage and metaphor ... Here's Kenny Barron's ballad "Morning Joy" from one of my favorite Moody LPs, "Feelin' it Together" (1973) the second of two great LPs he recorded for Muse in the early 70s that marked a real turning point in his evolution.

Go Moody. Go Moody. Go Moody.

[John L]

Go Moody. Go Moody. Go Moody.

:tup :tup :tup :tup :tup :tup :tup

[Dfrankjazz]

Yeah he was great, I saw him also about 20 years ago, it was beautiful.