Originally from Houston, Eddie Moore, 30, moved to Kansas City in 2010. On Saturday, he and his band the Outer Circle perform at a release party for their new album Kings & Queens.
3 reasons we're listening to Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle this week:
1. Not only is Moore one of the only keyboardists in town who can play both gospel-infused and conventional post-bop forms of jazz, Moore he can occasionally be heard playing with rock, reggae and hip-hop ensembles.
2. Moore successfully combines R&B and hip-hop into his artful form of improvisational jazz. “Time’s a Wastin’” is a cover of an Erykah Badu song from the neo-soul artist’s 2000 album Mama’s Gun, while the rapper Kemet “The Phantom” Coleman will join Moore and the Outer Circle at Saturday’s show.
3. Kings & Queens is the most significant album released by a Kansas City based jazz musician in 2016. Although it's an instrumental project, the album reflects Moore’s political and social orientation. In my review for KCUR, I wrote that “Moore and his bandmates don’t need lyrics or hashtags to convey a powerful message.”
Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle perform on Saturday, October 1 at the Tank Room, 1813 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri, 64108, 816-214-6403.
Bill Brownlee’s writing appears weekly in The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine. He blogs about Kansas City’s jazz scene at Plastic Sax.
