MUSIC JAZZHANDS Astoria musician sees value without dollar signs BY MITCHELL KIRK After arriving in New York, he soon found him- ried out by Joseph Stalin’s regime. self splitting his time between several ensembles, “At any given time, you can do anything you “We knew after graduation we were going to move admiring each for the diff erences in approach that want,” Elliott said, describing MOPDtK’s style. “Con- to New York, just because that’s what one does,” they off er. There’s the music of jazz group Jon Lund- tinuity is not a goal, necessarily. It’s more about risk said Moppa Elliott, the Scranton, Pennsylvania na- bom & Big Five Chord, for instance, which Elliott de- and juxtaposition.” www.queenscourier.com tive, now residing in Astoria, who came here with scribed as possessing a continuity that still allows MOPDtK has performed across America and Eu- friends in 2002 to pursue a career in jazz music. for improvisation through the band’s style of imple- rope with a catalog of original compositions and His nickname derived from his “moppy” hair- menting morsels of the written sections through im- jazz standards. Their fi fth studio album, titled “Slip- style as a boy. His character as a musician was also provised sections. pery Rock,” is slated to drop January 22 on Hot Cup shaped throughout his youth by his parents, whom Then there are the more structured components Records. In contrast to the fast-paced and variable he described as avid music lovers themselves. Af- that make up the music of chamber pop ensemble sound of their previous records, Elliot said the new ter starting out with the piano and then the tuba, as Alice, which combines the sounds of an accordi- album takes a diff erent approach, being based on a teenager he started playing the upright bass, his on, woodwinds, strings, guitar, percussion and of smooth jazz. • january 2013 • instrument-of-choice to this day. He studied at the course, Elliott on the bass. Elliott said that all of the “The aspects of smooth jazz that I was compo- Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts and the notated articulations in Alice’s music pose a chal- sitionally exploring don’t really have to do with the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio, graduating lenge that he can’t help but enjoy. stereotypical jazz production, which, you know, is in 2001 with a degree in jazz bass performance as Straying from the organization, continuity and all reserved and boring and bland,” he said, “but well as a degree in biology from Oberlin College. He consistency of these two groups is jazz quartet kind of more looking at the harmonic and melodic 44 lic courier said his time at college was particularly infl uential Mostly Other People Do the Killing (MOPDtK), of structures that smooth jazz musicians use, which on how he creates and interprets music from the which Elliott also serves as bandleader. The name are very diff erent from most other kinds of music.” way it expanded his rural Pennsylvania roots by ex- is derived from a remark Soviet inventor Léon Ther- Following the release of “Slippery Rock,” MOPDtK posing him to diff erent people with diff erent tastes. emin made in response to political executions car- will embark on a tour across Europe, a continent in
LIC012013
To see the actual publication please follow the link above