Celebrating Jazz Legend JAMES MOODY’S 100th BIRTHDAY
with a New Recording,
JAMES MOODY 80 YEARS YOUNG:
LIVE AT THE BLUE NOTE, MARCH 26, 2005
featuring Jon Faddis, Todd Coolman,David Hazeltine, Adam Nussbaum, Randy Brecker, Paquito D’Rivera, Cedar Walton and Slide Hampton to be Released for the First Time on Origin Records on May 16, 2025
Birthday Tribute Concert
Set for May 27, 8:00 pm, at New York’s Sony Hall
Featuring Christian McBride, Renee Rosnes, Randy Brecker,
Terri Lyne Carrington, Paquito D’Rivera,
Elena Pinderhughes and Madeleine Peyroux
SAN DIEGO, CA, March 26, 2025 – Tenor saxophonist and flutist James Moody (March 26, 1925 - December 9, 2010), whose hit song, “Moody’s Mood for Love” made him a popular jazz giant for seven decades, is being honored for his 100th birthday with a new CD, James Moody 80 Years Young: Live at the Blue Note, March 26, 2005, recorded during his week-long 80th birthday celebration. The CD will be released internationally on May 16 on Origin Records.
Supporting Moody on this historic night were trumpeter Jon Faddis, flugelhornist Randy Brecker, clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera, pianists David Hazeltine and Cedar Walton, bassist Todd Coolman, drummer Adam Nussbaum and trombonist Slide Hampton, with a brief introduction by jazz impresario George Wein.
“This live recording is a true tribute to the extraordinary talent surrounding Moody that night…,” Moody’s beloved wife and the CD’s producer, Linda Moody, fondly recalls. “…The energy wasn’t just onstage – the room was buzzing with jazz legends, sports figures, TV personalities, family, friends, and fans who all came together to honor this remarkable man. The Blue Note was alive with love, joy, incredible artistry and the unmistakable heartbeat of a community united in reverence for my husband.”
That reverence is aurally evident on James Moody 80 Years Young. The nine-track CD leads off with Wein’s “Introduction to James Moody.” Backed by Nussbaum’s in-the-pocket drumming, the solid bass tones by Coolman, the profound pianism provided by Walton and Hazeltine and a solid frontline featuring Hampton’s boppish trombone, Brecker’s fiery flugelhorn, D’Rivera’s Caribbean clarinet and Faddis’ dizzying trumpet flights, Moody’s melodious and moving, Charlie Parker-influenced tenor sax and flute lines reveal the fire and finesse that made him the standard bearer on those instruments for seven decades. Jazz classics “Ow,” “Bebop” and “Cherokee,” (three early up-tempo selections from Dizzy Gillespie’s late 40s big bands), along with Gillespie’s mid-tempo masterpiece “Birks Works,” find Moody in rare and riveting improvisational form, musically speaking the language of bebop with a 21st Century accent.
No performance by Moody was complete without his rousing rendition of “Moody’s Mood for Love – the Television Rap.” Moody recorded it as an improvised instrumental version of the Jimmy McHugh/Dorothy Fields ballad, “I’m in the Mood for Love,” in 1949 in Sweden. In 1952, King Pleasure presented an acclaimed version of it. It then became a hit throughout the United States when vocalese singer Eddie Jefferson put words to it and recorded it with Moody on the 1957 LP, Moody’s Mood for Love. Though it has been covered by a wide variety of artists over the years – from Aretha Franklin and Quincy Jones to George Benson and Amy Winehouse – it is, for all intents and purposes, Moody's song when he sings it, as the Blue Note audience approves, applauds and sings along when the band plays “Happy Birthday” to Moody.
But there’s more to Moody than hip bop solos. He is a natural showman with a razor-sharp comedic flair that comes through loudly and clearly on his gravelly vocals. It is evident on “Benny’s from Heaven,” a funny riff off the standard “Pennies from Heaven,” where a soldier comes home to his wife with a child not conceived by him. And there’s “Moody Speaks,” where Moody acknowledges the heavyweight boxer Joe Frazier, in the club, only to find out that Joe is a woman!
In addition to the physical CD, the album will be available on all digital platforms, with an added four bonus tracks. The extra tracks include the Harry “Sweets” Edison/Jon Hendricks love song, “Centerpiece,” laced with Roberta Gambarini’s vivacious velvet vocals; “Darben the Redd Foxx,” an old Moody-penned blues composition; “Polka Dots and Moonbeams,” which is imbued with Moody’s ballad brilliance; and the Sonny Rollins calypso “St. Thomas,” an excellent vehicle for Moody’s upbeat personality.
TRIBUTE CONCERT AND TOUR
Stay tuned for more information on a touring ensemble celebrating Moody’s 100th birthday. Tickets are available for a concert at the Blue Note Jazz Festival at New York’s Sony Hall, 235 W. 46th Street, on May 27 at 8:00 pm. Share in the Moody Love with Musical Directors Christian McBride and Renee Rosnes, Randy Brecker, Terri Lyne Carrington, Paquito D’Rivera, Elena Pinderhughes and Madeleine Peyroux and. For tickets, click here. For more information, call (212) 997-5123
“This live recording is a true tribute to the extraordinary talent surrounding Moody that night…,” Moody’s beloved wife and the CD’s producer, Linda Moody, fondly recalls. “…The energy wasn’t just onstage – the room was buzzing with jazz legends, sports figures, TV personalities, family, friends, and fans who all came together to honor this remarkable man. The Blue Note was alive with love, joy, incredible artistry and the unmistakable heartbeat of a community united in reverence for my husband.”
That reverence is aurally evident on James Moody 80 Years Young. The nine-track CD leads off with Wein’s “Introduction to James Moody.” Backed by Nussbaum’s in-the-pocket drumming, the solid bass tones by Coolman, the profound pianism provided by Walton and Hazeltine and a solid frontline featuring Hampton’s boppish trombone, Brecker’s fiery flugelhorn, D’Rivera’s Caribbean clarinet and Faddis’ dizzying trumpet flights, Moody’s melodious and moving, Charlie Parker-influenced tenor sax and flute lines reveal the fire and finesse that made him the standard bearer on those instruments for seven decades. Jazz classics “Ow,” “Bebop” and “Cherokee,” (three early up-tempo selections from Dizzy Gillespie’s late 40s big bands), along with Gillespie’s mid-tempo masterpiece “Birks Works,” find Moody in rare and riveting improvisational form, musically speaking the language of bebop with a 21st Century accent.
No performance by Moody was complete without his rousing rendition of “Moody’s Mood for Love – the Television Rap.” Moody recorded it as an improvised instrumental version of the Jimmy McHugh/Dorothy Fields ballad, “I’m in the Mood for Love,” in 1949 in Sweden. In 1952, King Pleasure presented an acclaimed version of it. It then became a hit throughout the United States when vocalese singer Eddie Jefferson put words to it and recorded it with Moody on the 1957 LP, Moody’s Mood for Love. Though it has been covered by a wide variety of artists over the years – from Aretha Franklin and Quincy Jones to George Benson and Amy Winehouse – it is, for all intents and purposes, Moody's song when he sings it, as the Blue Note audience approves, applauds and sings along when the band plays “Happy Birthday” to Moody.
But there’s more to Moody than hip bop solos. He is a natural showman with a razor-sharp comedic flair that comes through loudly and clearly on his gravelly vocals. It is evident on “Benny’s from Heaven,” a funny riff off the standard “Pennies from Heaven,” where a soldier comes home to his wife with a child not conceived by him. And there’s “Moody Speaks,” where Moody acknowledges the heavyweight boxer Joe Frazier, in the club, only to find out that Joe is a woman!
In addition to the physical CD, the album will be available on all digital platforms, with an added four bonus tracks. The extra tracks include the Harry “Sweets” Edison/Jon Hendricks love song, “Centerpiece,” laced with Roberta Gambarini’s vivacious velvet vocals; “Darben the Redd Foxx,” an old Moody-penned blues composition; “Polka Dots and Moonbeams,” which is imbued with Moody’s ballad brilliance; and the Sonny Rollins calypso “St. Thomas,” an excellent vehicle for Moody’s upbeat personality.
TRIBUTE CONCERT AND TOUR
Stay tuned for more information on a touring ensemble celebrating Moody’s 100th birthday. Tickets are available for a concert at the Blue Note Jazz Festival at New York’s Sony Hall, 235 W. 46th Street, on May 27 at 8:00 pm. Share in the Moody Love with Musical Directors Christian McBride and Renee Rosnes, Randy Brecker, Terri Lyne Carrington, Paquito D’Rivera, Elena Pinderhughes and Madeleine Peyroux and. For tickets, click here. For more information, call (212) 997-5123
* * *
ABOUT JAMES MOODY
Moody’s multi-faceted career stems from a life of adversity, challenge and artistic triumph. Born in Savannah, GA, Moody was raised by a single mother in Newark, NJ. Born partially deaf, he attended the Bruce Street School for Deaf in that city. Moody’s uncle bought him his first saxophone when he was 16, and he later graduated from Newark’s famed Arts High School, where Sarah Vaughan, Melba Moore and Wayne Shorter also matriculated. Moody’s early saxophone idols were Lester Young, Charlie Parker and Don Byas. He mainly played tenor saxophone and flute, and occasionally played alto sax. He was drafted into the Army in 1943 and played in an all-Black military band.
After his discharge from the Army in 1946, Moody led a group called The Modernists, and he later joined Dizzy Gillespie’s pioneering big band for two years. That initial association with Gillespie would last for decades. Moody was a part of Gillespie’s State Department big band that toured Asia, The Middle East and in Latin America in the mid to late 50’s. Moody later joined Gillespie’s small combos in the 60’s that included a young Kenny Barron on piano. Gillespie and Moody recorded a few critically- acclaimed albums, including Jambo Caribe, Swing Low, Sweet Cadillac, and Live at Royal Festival Hall with Gillespie’s United Nation Orchestra. Moody also worked with a wide variety of jazz stars including Art Farmer, Quincy Jones, Milt Jackson, Max Roach, Lalo Schifrin and Elvin Jones. Moody’s 45 albums as a leader include James Moody and his Modernists, Moody’s Mood for Love, Last Train from Overbrook, Flute n’ the Blues, Teachers, Something Special and Moody 4B. Moody also had a cameo role in Clint Eastwood’s 1997 movie, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.”
In addition to his sensational career as a musician, Moody was a steadfast supporter of arts education. In 2005, he and his wife Linda founded the James Moody Scholarship at Purchase College. In 2011, Mrs. Moody founded the James Moody Scholarship for Newark, NJ, which partners with Jazz House Kids in Montclair and annually awards $10,000 toward college tuition to a Newark high school senior, who embodies the qualities expressed by Moody throughout his life and works through musicianship, creativity, leadership and community involvement.
In 1998, Moody received the NEA Jazz Master Award, and in 2000, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Berklee College of Music and an Honorary Doctorate from Florida Memorial College. Moody was a four-time Grammy nominee and a recipient posthumously in 2011. The TD James Moody Jazz Festival, founded in 2012, is named in his honor as a proud Newark native.
Whether you are a lifelong fan of James Moody, or just discovering him, the music of James Moody: 80 Years Young: Live at the Blue Note, March 26, 2005, features the artistry of a musician who loved music as much as he loved life.
Moody’s multi-faceted career stems from a life of adversity, challenge and artistic triumph. Born in Savannah, GA, Moody was raised by a single mother in Newark, NJ. Born partially deaf, he attended the Bruce Street School for Deaf in that city. Moody’s uncle bought him his first saxophone when he was 16, and he later graduated from Newark’s famed Arts High School, where Sarah Vaughan, Melba Moore and Wayne Shorter also matriculated. Moody’s early saxophone idols were Lester Young, Charlie Parker and Don Byas. He mainly played tenor saxophone and flute, and occasionally played alto sax. He was drafted into the Army in 1943 and played in an all-Black military band.
After his discharge from the Army in 1946, Moody led a group called The Modernists, and he later joined Dizzy Gillespie’s pioneering big band for two years. That initial association with Gillespie would last for decades. Moody was a part of Gillespie’s State Department big band that toured Asia, The Middle East and in Latin America in the mid to late 50’s. Moody later joined Gillespie’s small combos in the 60’s that included a young Kenny Barron on piano. Gillespie and Moody recorded a few critically- acclaimed albums, including Jambo Caribe, Swing Low, Sweet Cadillac, and Live at Royal Festival Hall with Gillespie’s United Nation Orchestra. Moody also worked with a wide variety of jazz stars including Art Farmer, Quincy Jones, Milt Jackson, Max Roach, Lalo Schifrin and Elvin Jones. Moody’s 45 albums as a leader include James Moody and his Modernists, Moody’s Mood for Love, Last Train from Overbrook, Flute n’ the Blues, Teachers, Something Special and Moody 4B. Moody also had a cameo role in Clint Eastwood’s 1997 movie, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.”
In addition to his sensational career as a musician, Moody was a steadfast supporter of arts education. In 2005, he and his wife Linda founded the James Moody Scholarship at Purchase College. In 2011, Mrs. Moody founded the James Moody Scholarship for Newark, NJ, which partners with Jazz House Kids in Montclair and annually awards $10,000 toward college tuition to a Newark high school senior, who embodies the qualities expressed by Moody throughout his life and works through musicianship, creativity, leadership and community involvement.
In 1998, Moody received the NEA Jazz Master Award, and in 2000, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Berklee College of Music and an Honorary Doctorate from Florida Memorial College. Moody was a four-time Grammy nominee and a recipient posthumously in 2011. The TD James Moody Jazz Festival, founded in 2012, is named in his honor as a proud Newark native.
Whether you are a lifelong fan of James Moody, or just discovering him, the music of James Moody: 80 Years Young: Live at the Blue Note, March 26, 2005, features the artistry of a musician who loved music as much as he loved life.
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