Moris Tepper, sometimes credited as Jeff Moris Tepper, is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and artist. Tepper first came to prominence in the late 1970s with

Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born 'Don Glen Vliet'; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as the M ...

. He has also worked with singers

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...

Robyn Hitchcock Robyn Rowan Hitchcock (born 3 March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the ...

and

Frank Black Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965), better known by the stage name Black Francis, is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies. Following the band's break ...

. He has recorded several solo albums. His album ''Head Off'' (2004) includes a lyrical collaboration with the reclusive Beefheart with the song "Ricochet Man". Tepper met Beefheart (alias Don Van Vliet) by chance while studying as an art student in Northern California in the mid-1970s. Van Vliet had already started to focus on painting and although they shared this in common it was when Van Vliet learned Tepper knew guitar parts to ''

Trout Mask Replica ''Trout Mask Replica'' is the third studio album by the American band Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, released as a double album on June 16, 1969, by Straight Records. The music was composed by Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet) and arrange ...

'' that he became interested in putting together a new band around Tepper's unique guitar sound. This was done later in Los Angeles after Van Vliet and

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

had reunited briefly for the ''

Bongo Fury ''Bongo Fury'' is a collaborative album by American artists Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, and Zappa's band the Mothers, released in October 1975. The live portions were recorded on May 20 and 21, 1975, at the Armadillo World Headquarters in ...

'' tour.Chuck Crisafulli, "Busted guitars and spectacular sounds", ''musicplayer.com'', July 30, 2001 The result of the new band led to arguably some of Captain Beefheart's most creative music efforts including albums ''

Shiny Beast ''Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)'' is the tenth studio album by American band Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, released in October 1978 by Warner Bros. Records. The album emerged from production difficulties surrounding '' Bat Chain Puller' ...

'' (1978), '' Doc at the Radar Station'' (1980) and ''

Ice Cream for Crow ''Ice Cream for Crow'' is the twelfth studio album by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, released in September 1982, the final one released during his life time. After it was recorded, Don Van Vliet retired from music to devote himself to a car ...

'' (1982). Tepper joined

The Magic Band The Magic Band was the backing band of American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Captain Beefheart between 1967 and 1982. The band was formed by guitarist Alex St. Clair with Beefheart as the lead singer; eventually, they morphed into ...

in 1976 and stayed in the band until 1982. He is one of the longest serving (without a break) Magic Band members and the only one to receive production credit for ''

'' (1982)Moris Tepper Discography
The Captain Beefheart Radar Station Tepper's first released solo work beginning with ''Big Enough to Disappear'' (1996) and then ''Moth to Mouth'' (2000) came after having been a sideman for many years. His music has been reviewed as "accessibly avant-garde" and although it may be difficult to shed his sideman cult status he remains inspired.John Aizlewood, "'Stingray In The Heart' Review", ''Q Magazine'' 2008 ''Stingray in the Heart'' (2008) was described as an album that never pauses in a familiar territory.Antero Garcia
ALBUM REVIEW: MORIS TEPPER: Moris Tepper Stingray in the Heart Candlebone
L.A. Record, May 29, 2008 Tepper is also a painter and he divides his time between music and painting. Tepper has occasionally worked as a television composer since the 1990s. One of his first shows was

Saban Entertainment BVS Entertainment, Inc., previously known as Saban Productions, Saban Entertainment and Saban International, is a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company. Founded on April 24, 1980, as a music production company by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy, it ...

's animated series ''

The Mouse and the Monster ''The Mouse and the Monster'' is a 1996–97 American animated series created by Jerry Leibowitz for Saban Entertainment. It centered around a mouse named Chesbro, and a beatnik monster named Mo. The show was originally part of the UPN network's ...

'', which aired on

UPN Kids ''UPN Kids'' was an American children's programming block that aired on UPN from September 10, 1995 to September 5, 1999. Airing on Sunday mornings, the block aired for one hour (10:00 to 11:00 am), then two hours the following year (9:00 to ...

in 1996 and 1997. In the 2000s, he went on to compose for ''

Army Wives ''Army Wives'' is an American drama television series that followed the lives of four army wives, one army husband, and their families. The series premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007, and ran for seven seasons, ending on June 9, 2013. The sh ...

'', '' Bakersfield P.D.'', ''

Rob & Big ''Rob & Big'' is an American reality television series following the lives of professional skateboarder, actor, and producer Rob Dyrdek and his best friend and bodyguard Christopher "Big Black" Boykin. It premiered on November 2, 2006, and con ...

'', ''

Scrubs Scrub(s) may refer to: * Scrub, low shrub and grass characteristic of scrubland * Scrubs (clothing), worn by medical staff * ''Scrubs'' (TV series), an American television program * Scrubs (occupation), also called "scrub tech," "scrub nurse," ...

'' and ''The Minor Accomplishments Of Jackie Woodman''.https://candlebone.com/composer/

Discography

With Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band

Studio albums

*''

'' (1978) *'' Doc at the Radar Station'' (1980) *''

'' (1982) *''

Bat Chain Puller ''Bat Chain Puller'' is the 13th studio album (and first official posthumous album) by Captain Beefheart, released on February 22, 2012. It was recorded in 1976 by DiscReet Records, who had intended to release it with Virgin Records as Captain ...

'' (2012)

Live albums

*'' I'm Going to Do What I Wanna Do: Live at My Father's Place 1978'' (2000) *''Merseytrout: Live in Liverpool 1980'' (2000)

Compilations

*''A Carrot Is As Close As A Rabbit Gets To A Diamond'' (1993 compilation) *'' Grow Fins: Rarities 1965–1982'' (1999) *''The Dust Blows Forward'' (1999)

With 17 Pygmies

*''Captured in Ice'' (1985) *''Welcome'' (1988)

With Gary Lucas

*''Improve The Shining Hour'' (2000 compilation)

With Tom Waits

*''

Franks Wild Years ''Franks Wild Years'' is the tenth studio album by Tom Waits, released 1987 on Island Records. It is the third in a loose trilogy that began with ''Swordfishtrombones''. Subtitled "Un Operachi Romantico in Two Acts", the album contains songs wr ...

'' (1987)

With Frank Black

*'' Teenager of the Year'' (1994) *'' Dog in the Sand'' (2001) *'' Black Letter Days'' (2002) *''

Devil's Workshop ''Devil's Workshop'' is the second of a pair of albums by Frank Black and the Catholics to be simultaneously released on August 20, 2002 (along with '' Black Letter Days''). "His Kingly Cave" was originally recorded for an aborted album project ...

'' (2002)

With Tommy Santee Klaws

*'' Forcefeeder'' (2018) *''

Honeysuckle Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or Vine#Twining vines, twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae. The genus includes 158 species native to northern latitudes in North America, Eurasia, and North Africa. Widely kno ...

'' (2021) *'' A Table Before Me'' (2024)

Solo albums

* ''Big Enough to Disappear'' (1996) * ''Sundowner'', Eggtooth (1998) * ''Moth to Mouth'' (2000) * ''Head Off'' (2004) * ''Stingray in the Heart'' (2008) * ''A Singer Named Shotgun Throat'' (2010) * ''Building A Nest (''2024'')''

Compilations

*'' Songs in the Key Of Z: The Curious Universe Of Outsider Music'' (2000) *''Now Hear This!'' 70 (2008)

References

External links

Candlebone.com – Moris Tepper's official siteMoris Tepper
at

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

Jeff Moris Tepper discography
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tepper, Moris Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American rock songwriters American rock singers American rock guitarists American blues guitarists American male guitarists American slide guitarists The Magic Band members 20th-century American painters American male painters 21st-century American painters Guitarists from Los Angeles Singer-songwriters from California