Evening With Nick Moran and Friends at Arts + Literature Laboratory

Madison’s music community has the privilege of experiencing so very much of Nick Moran. The bassist’s work in the local jazz scene alone would be pretty tough to sum up—though the highlights include his role as the gregarious host of the New Breed Jazz Jam, co-founding the brilliant Afro-Latin jazz outfit Golpe Tierra, and his musical bridge-building trips to Cuba. But it’s not often that we get a night solely focused on his accomplished, versatile playing. At this ALL show, Moran will explore a whole spectrum of his musical interests and collaborations in a series of solo pieces, duos, and small groups. “The night will feature música criolla del Peru, bossa nova, straight ahead jazz and jazz standards, reggae, and hip hop,” Moran tells Tone Madison. Featured players will include drummer Wayne Saltzman II, vocalist Michelle Duval, saxophonist/pianist Pawan Benjamin, and his bandmates in the long-running hip-hop outfit dumate. Moran has worked tirelessly on stage and behind the scenes to bring us a lot of excellent music and make it more accessible to local audiences, so it’s good to see him get a chance to be the center of attention. 

—Scott Gordon