Ralph Moore (born 24 December 1956) is an English

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

saxophonist.

Early life

Moore was born in

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. His mother was the dancer Josie Woods, and his father was in the US military. He spent his childhood in Brixton, and after trying various instruments, took up the tenor saxophone at the age of 14. In 1972, he moved to

Santa Maria, California Santa Maria (Spanish language, Spanish for "Mary, mother of Jesus, St. Mary") is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, it is approximately northwest o ...

, to live with his father. His mother had not wanted him to grow up in Brixton. "Around 1975 he moved to Boston, where he played locally and attended the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

. His studies were interrupted when his apartment was robbed and he was shot and seriously wounded, and he never received a degree."

Later life and career

Moore began his professional career with a tour of Scandinavia in 1979. He moved to New York the following year. He was part of

Horace Silver Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s. After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sch ...

's band from 1981 to 1985, including for tours of Europe and Japan, and recordings. He then played with numerous musicians, including

Roy Haynes Roy Owen Haynes (March 13, 1925 – November 12, 2024) was an American jazz drummer. In the 1950s, he was given the nickname "Snap Crackle" for his distinctive snare drum sound and musical vocabulary. He is among the most recorded drummers in ja ...

(around 1982–86), Darrell Grant (1986–87),

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

's reunion band (1987),

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

(around 1987–91), and

Gene Harris Gene Harris (born Eugene Haire, September 1, 1933 – January 16, 2000) was an American jazz pianist known for his warm sound and blues and gospel infused style that is known as soul jazz. From 1956 to 1970, he played in The Three Sounds tri ...

(1989–90). Moore's first recording as leader was for Reservoir Records in 1985. He subsequently recorded for

Landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...

, Criss Cross, and

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

. Starting in 1995, he was part of Kevin Eubanks's band for ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

''.

Discography

As leader

* 1985: '' Round Trip'' (

Reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

) * 1987: '' 623 C Street'' ( Criss Cross) * 1988: '' Rejuvenate!'' (Criss Cross) * 1988: ''

Images An image or picture is a visual representation. An image can be two-dimensional, such as a drawing, painting, or photograph, or three-dimensional, such as a carving or sculpture. Images may be displayed through other media, including a project ...

'' (

) * 1990: '' Furthermore'' (Landmark) * 1993: '' Who It Is You Are'' (

) * 2019: '' Three Score'' (WJ3)

As sideman

With

Kenny Barron Kenneth Barron (born June 9, 1943) is an American jazz pianist and composer who has appeared on hundreds of recordings as leader and sideman and is considered one of the most influential mainstream jazz pianists since the bebop era. Early life ...

*'' Invitation'' (Criss Cross Jazz, 1991) With

Billy Hart Billy Hart (born November 29, 1940) is an American jazz drumming, jazz drummer and educator. He is known internationally for his work with Herbie Hancock's "Mwandishi" band in the early 1970s, as well as with Shirley Horn, Stan Getz, and Quest (b ...

* '' Rah'' ( Gramavision, 1988) With

* ''

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

'' (Music Masters, 1991) With

Bobby Hutcherson Robert Hutcherson (January 27, 1941 – August 15, 2016) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. "Little B's Poem", from the 1966 Blue Note Records, Blue Note album ''Components (album), Components'', is one of his best-known composi ...

*'' Cruisin' the 'Bird'' (Landmark, 1988) With Jimmy Knepper *'' Dream Dancing'' (Criss Cross, 1986) With

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...

* '' Oscar Peterson Meets Roy Hargrove and Ralph Moore'' (

Telarc Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long assoc ...

, 1996) With Valery Ponomarev * '' Means of Identification'' (Reservoir, 1985 987 * '' Trip to Moscow'' (Reservoir, 1987) With Ben Riley * '' Weaver of Dreams'' (Joken, 1996) With Rob Schneiderman * ''

Radio Waves Radio waves (formerly called Hertzian waves) are a type of electromagnetic radiation with the lowest frequencies and the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, typically with frequencies below 300 gigahertz (GHz) and wavelengths ...

'' (

, 1991) * '' Dark Blue'' (Reservoir, 1994) With Superblue * ''Superblue 2'' (

Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

, 1989) With

Cedar Walton Cedar Anthony Walton Jr. (January 17, 1934 – August 19, 2013) was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and c ...

*''

Mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

'' (Music Masters, 1990

992 Year 992 ( CMXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Worldwide * Winter – A superflare from the sun causes an Aurora Borealis, with visibility as far south as Germany and Korea. Euro ...

as Eastern Rebellion *''

Simple Pleasure ''Simple Pleasure'' is the fourth studio album by Tindersticks. It was released in 1999 on Island Records. The album marked a major departure for the band, as it began to adapt more soul and jazz influences than on their previous recordings. Th ...

'' (Music Masters, 1993) as Eastern Rebellion * ''

Composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

'' (

Astor Place Astor Place is a street in NoHo/ East Village, in the lower part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is divided into two sections: One segment runs from Broadway in the west (just below East 8th Street) to Lafayette Street, an ...

, 1996) With Ray Brown * Moore Makes Four (Concord Jazz, 1991) * Some of my best friends are the sax players (Telarc, 1996)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Ralph 1956 births Living people English jazz saxophonists British male saxophonists Criss Cross Jazz artists Enja Records artists Savoy Records artists Landmark Records artists 21st-century British saxophonists 21st-century British male musicians British male jazz musicians The Tonight Show Band members Superblue (band) members Reservoir Records artists