Biography
Don Moye has collaborated with numerous figures across free jazz, yet his defining contributions emerged through membership in the Art Ensemble of Chicago, the era's most celebrated avant-garde unit during the 1970s and 1980s. His arrival supplied the previously drummer-less ensemble with a clearer rhythmic profile that strengthened its overall groove capacity. Although fluent in conventional jazz swing, Moye stood out through deep command of African and Caribbean percussion instruments along with their associated rhythmic methods, an approach uncommon among jazz drummers of his time.
Percussion study occurred at Wayne State University in Detroit, where he performed alongside trumpeter Charles Moore in Detroit Free Jazz. That band reached Europe in May of 1968; afterward Moye journeyed across the continent and into Northern Africa, collaborating with Steve Lacy, Sonny Sharrock, and Pharoah Sanders. The Art Ensemble landed in Paris in 1969 after two years without a drummer since its founding, then engaged Moye full-time at the American Center for Students and Artists. His vigorous, pattern-oriented polyrhythmic playing supplied propulsion and unity previously missing to varying degrees. Together with Jarman and Favors, Moye appeared in performance wearing African face paint and garments.
Outside the Art Ensemble, Moye sustained wide activity; prior to settling in Chicago in 1971 he worked with musicians tied to the Black Artists Group in St. Louis. The 1970s found him performing with pianist Randy Weston and forming a percussion duo with AACM associate Steve McCall. Engagements and recordings ranged across modal, bop, and free jazz contexts. In 1984 he joined The Leaders, an all-star avant-jazz collective that also included Lester Bowie, Chico Freeman, Arthur Blythe, Don Cherry, and Kirk Lightsey. Moye led sessions on the Art Ensemble's AECO label, among them the 1975 solo percussion release Sun Percussion, Vol. 1; the 1993 co-led Calypso's Smile with the Joseph Jarman/Famoudou Don Moye Magic Triangle Band; and the 1996 co-led Afrikan Song with Enoch Williamson as the Sun Percussion Summit.
Percussion study occurred at Wayne State University in Detroit, where he performed alongside trumpeter Charles Moore in Detroit Free Jazz. That band reached Europe in May of 1968; afterward Moye journeyed across the continent and into Northern Africa, collaborating with Steve Lacy, Sonny Sharrock, and Pharoah Sanders. The Art Ensemble landed in Paris in 1969 after two years without a drummer since its founding, then engaged Moye full-time at the American Center for Students and Artists. His vigorous, pattern-oriented polyrhythmic playing supplied propulsion and unity previously missing to varying degrees. Together with Jarman and Favors, Moye appeared in performance wearing African face paint and garments.
Outside the Art Ensemble, Moye sustained wide activity; prior to settling in Chicago in 1971 he worked with musicians tied to the Black Artists Group in St. Louis. The 1970s found him performing with pianist Randy Weston and forming a percussion duo with AACM associate Steve McCall. Engagements and recordings ranged across modal, bop, and free jazz contexts. In 1984 he joined The Leaders, an all-star avant-jazz collective that also included Lester Bowie, Chico Freeman, Arthur Blythe, Don Cherry, and Kirk Lightsey. Moye led sessions on the Art Ensemble's AECO label, among them the 1975 solo percussion release Sun Percussion, Vol. 1; the 1993 co-led Calypso's Smile with the Joseph Jarman/Famoudou Don Moye Magic Triangle Band; and the 1996 co-led Afrikan Song with Enoch Williamson as the Sun Percussion Summit.
Albums
Live
