Tony Moreno in Conversation with CJ Shearn
Tony Moreno is a remarkable musician and human being. His brand new release Short Stories (Mayimba Jazz) is a testament to the will of the human spirit. As you will hear, the drummer lost his studio, drums, music, memorabilia from his mother the accomplished pianist, harpist and ethnomusicologist Nina Dunkel Moreno in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Through an outpouring of love from fellow musicians and friends, a keyboard was the beginning to the drummer resuming his career in music and the all new compositions throughout the striking double album feature a core band of fellow NYJW faculty members trumpeter Ron Horton, saxophonist Marc Mommaas, pianist Jean- Michel Pilc and Ugonna Okegwo on bass.
During the course of an hour long conversation I discuss with the drummer the influence of his mother, the new album, his mentor and father figure Elvin Jones, jazz drummers on the scene today and jazz education. Special thanks to Antje Hubner of Hubtone PR for coordinating this interview.
I have been the staff writer for the New York Jazz Workshop School of Music blog in midtown Manhattan since 2014, and that has broadened my freelance writing skills considerably. In addition to writing artist bios, and articles of interest that pertain to the mission of the school, I have interviewed (in print on the site) legendary guitarist and NEA Jazz Master Pat Metheny, trumpeter Cuong Vu, and in 2015 embarked on producing a podcast for the school where I have achieved my dream and interviewed jazz giants such as Dave Liebman, Lenny White, rising talents like Thana Alexa, Logan Richardson, guitarist and bassist Brian Kastan, among others. I also work on SEO optimization for the blog. In 2015 I started my blog Jazz Views with CJ Shearn, and have written liner notes for 5 time Grammy winner and Oscar and Golden Globe nominee, Antonio Sanchez (for his latest recording “Channels of Energy”) and guitarist Gene Ess for his latest recording, scheduled to be released in November 2018.
My passion for jazz music is what drives me, which is an interest I’ve had since I can remember. I initially began writing about jazz at the age of 13 for my high school newspaper, and in my late teens contributed occasionally to jazzreview.com. In college I was member of the Harpur Jazz Project which brought jazz acts to campus. I’ve also contributed in the past to AllAboutJazz where I was mentored by John Kelman. I decided to focus on my passion for jazz music journalism after a job in the social services field as a caseworker went south, and as a person with a physical disability I work on going against the odds, living independently and having accomplished things people had said I’d never do.