Max Moran, jazz bassist: Something Else! Interview

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New Orleans-based bassist Max Moran joins Preston Frazier in this Something Else! Sitdown to discuss Neospectric, a new album of original compositions that blend jazz, funk, fusion, R&B and rock. They also discuss Moran’s musical roots, the close-knit musical culture of New Orleans, and his favorite albums of all time …

PRESTON FRAZIER: You’re from Louisiana, right?
MAX MORAN: Yes, I’m from a small town outside of New Orleans called Cane River, about four hours north. I’ve been in New Orleans for about 20 years, though.

PRESTON FRAZIER: Do you come from a musical background?
MAX MORAN: My cousin Jason Moran is a pianist and composer. My father was also a musician, playing with Albert King, James Brown and Buddy Guy. My cousins and father are great music lovers.

PRESTON FRAZIER: How did you get involved?
MAX MORAN: My parents encouraged me when I was five years old to take violins lessons. It really was that early exposure that got me interested. At 10, I started playing guitar, then electric bass. I then went to a middle school that had a jazz program. At seventh grade, I started playing jazz and improvising. I went to a conservatory high school in New Orleans called the New Orleans Center of Creative Arts. I was able to really focus on music every day.

PRESTON FRAZIER: After high school, were you thinking of playing or –
MAX MORAN: Well, I’ve been primarily a player, a sideman. I went to Berklee College of Music in Boston and played a lot aver the past 10 years with (saxophonist) Donald Harrison. He’s been a great mentor to me, as well as a lot of the guys in my band. After Berklee, I went back to New Orleans, to play with my peers. I did move to Brooklyn for about six years to kind of try it out and see if that’s the way I wanted to go. I decided it wasn’t for me. It’s a great city, but I wasn’t for me. I decided to come back home and play with my peers here.

PRESTON FRAZIER: Did you find the music scene difficult to get in in New York?
MAX MORAN: Well, it’s a very different kind of scene. There are so many great musicians that it can be overwhelming. Not everyone is as welcoming. It’s hard to start over after being established in New Orleans. Also, the scene in New Orleans is like a family. Everyone embraces each other; it’s more encouraging and collaborative. I was just more comfortable here in New Orleans. I toured a lot with Donald after returning to New Orleans, as well as Herlin Riley, a great drummer from New Orleans, and Shannon Powell, Davell Crawford – who’s from New Orleans but also lives in New York. A bunch of bands with my peers. As a bass player, given the nature of the instrument you’re going to be a sideman a lot, but I really enjoy it. You get to play with a lot of different people in a lot of different styles.

PRESTON FRAZIER: You’re in a jazz band now, right?
MAX MORAN: Yes, a few! I’m playing with a clarinetist named Gregory Agid. We went to high school together. We play every week, and we’ve been playing every week for about seven years. That’s my most regular straight-ahead jazz gig; it’s clarinet, bass, guitar and drums.

PRESTON FRAZIER: How did you get to the Neospectric album? How did the concept develop?
MAX MORAN: It started a while back when I was in college. Chris Hines, the guitarist, had a house party and the thought occurred that I should put something together with my friends. I could groove and hold it down, and they could explore and express themselves over the themes that I developed. I wanted a contemporary groove, instead of straight-ahead swing.

PRESTON FRAZIER: So, these songs gestated for a while?
MAX MORAN: Yes, some are older, but some I wrote close to the recording session, which was now two years ago.

PRESTON FRAZIER: How did you arrange the songs? Did you just establish a rhythmic foundation? “All Right,” for example –
MAX MORAN: “All Right,” in particular, I came up with the bass line and guitar part and the groove first. The first section and the last section are fascinating because of the odd bar in a phrase. I like the idea of not playing in odd meters all the time, but just adding a little hiccup here and there to make it interesting, but not losing the feel or making it too complex. I came up with the groove, then Khris Royal came up with these really interesting horn lines. We’ve played together so much that he know how to work in great horn lines. They has a Parliament-Funkadelic feel. He came up with them in the studio. We overdubbed Fiend, who’s a rapper from New Orleans. We also overdubbed Nicholas Payton’s trumpet solo, and the end guitar solo by Josh Connelly. Every song is different. With this song, the rhythm section just kind of grooved then everything else came on top. We figured it out as it went. On other songs, we all collectively improvised on one take. A.J. Hall was the drummer on “All Right.”

PRESTON FRAZIER: So, each song had its own unique gestation.
MAX MORAN: Yes, for some songs I wrote the simple melody on the bass and the chord structures. Then build on it.

PRESTON FRAZIER: The album has a great groove and live feel. You can hear elements of Funkadelic, but also the jazz elements.
MAX MORAN: That’s what we were going for. We are all jazz musicians, but are not just jazz musicians. We enjoy elements of ’60s, ’70s and ’80s music, and we wanted to bring all that to the table in a live and spontaneous way.

PRESTON FRAZIER: Would you talk about the concept behind the song “The Grass”?
MAX MORAN: That was one that is probably the most freely improvised, and it’s different every time we play it. It has the same bass line and drums when we play it live, but the middle section is almost anything goes. The concepts came from when I was home fooling around on my computer, playing with the tension and release of the groove against these kind of abstract, haunting sections. I wanted the band to improvise and improvise until we reached a point and everyone drops out, then creep back in then head back to the groove.

PRESTON FRAZIER: You mentioned that this was done on the computer –
MAX MORAN: I’d say half the songs started as sketches on the computer. I’d do a scratch drum, track, lay down some bass and play some cords, just so I could hear the idea.
Other songs were developed on the bass by myself, playing cords and developing the form. Other songs, the band knew from playing live.

PRESTON FRAZIER: How did you come up with “Revenge”?
MAX MORAN: That was one of the older songs. I developed it when I was in college. The idea behind it is the motif “success is the best form of revenge.” I wrote it after a breakup with a girlfriend at the time. It’s about me reclaiming my identity outside this relationship. It was getting out anger and frustration, then moving on in a positive light.

PRESTON FRAZIER: How about the song “Red”?
MAX MORAN: “Red” came about right before the main session. I started composing that on my phone. I used GarageBand and came up with the bass line and chorus. Later, I moved it to the computer and came up with a simple melody. It’s kind of an Afro beat, an Afro feel. I used the piano to compose the breakdown section. I was thinking I didn’t want it to be a typical jazz form. I wanted a solo then it went into a new, non-repeating section. I wanted to keep it interesting.

PRESTON FRAZIER: The album’s sound is pristine.
MAX MORAN: It was mastered by Bob Power, who I really wanted to work with. He’s worked with a number of big stars. He’s been a hero of mine since I was at Berklee. Bob is the guy who engineered or mixed, or produced tons of my favorite records by people like Erykah Badu, D’Angelo and Meshell Ndegeocello, who I’m a big fan of. I’ve also been a big fan of Bob. I’m excited he could lend his talent to the album.

PRESTON FRAZIER: The song “You Take” has an interesting origin.
MAX MORAN: Yes, I wrote the song the day I got this bass. I was in Japan on my third trip. Every time I went to Japan, I went to this store of the company that makes my bass. I love them, so I kept coming back to play them. The owner of the company, Mr. Yoshioka, asked me if I liked his bass. I said, “yes” and he said, “Well, pick one.” I picked the one I have and I asked him how much. He said to me, “You take.” I was playing it in the store and came up with the chords to the song, and recorded it on my phone. The song is dedicated to him. The middle section is a heavy-rock thing, because one of his favorite musicians in Jimi Hendrix. I dedicated it to him.

PRESTON FRAZIER: I know you’re about to go on the road.
MAX MORAN: Yes, I’m playing with the Bridge Trio. It consists of pianist Conun Pappas and drummer Joe Dyson. We’ve been together since high school, and play gigs and new music. I’m also playing with vocalist Fatoumata Diawara.

PRESTON FRAZIER: Tell us about your gear.
MAX MORAN: I endorse Aguilar amps, pedals and pickups, Mad Professor effects pedals and Crews Maniac Sound Basses. My bass is a five-string, 24-fret “Be Bottom” model by Crews. It has Aguilar DCB pickups and an OBP-3 pre-amp by Aguilar. I also use Aguilar’s “Filter Twin” envelope filter pedal. For the recording of the album, I used an Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 head and SL112 cabinet. The only effect used on the recording was a Mad Professor “Tiny Orange Phaser,” on “Far Away.”

PRESTON FRAZIER: What are your Top 5 favorite albums?
MAX MORAN: In no particular order, Devil’s Halo by Meshell Ndegeocello, New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh by Erykah Badu, My Funny Valentine/Four and More by Miles Davis, A Love Supreme by John Coltrane, and Voodoo by D’Angelo.


Preston Frazier