James Moody, 1998 Saxophone, Flute, Vocals Born March 26, 1925 in Savannah, GA
Photo by Tom Pich

One of the surviving champions of Dizzy Gillespie's music, James Moody is an accomplished musician on the tenor and alto saxophones, as well as the flute, despite being born partially deaf. In addition to his instrumental prowess, Moody is an engaging entertainer, captivating audiences with his personal charm and wit.

Although born in Savannah, he was raised in Reading, Pennsylvania, and Newark, New Jersey. His interest in jazz was sparked by a trumpet-playing father who gigged in the Tiny Bradshaw band. His first musical training came in the Air Force, and after leaving the service in 1946 he joined the Dizzy Gillespie big band, staying until 1948. Gillespie became his musical mentor. In 1948 he moved to Paris for three years, often playing with visiting American musicians, including the Tadd Dameron-Miles Davis band in 1949.

In Sweden he recorded his famous improvisation on "I'm in the Mood For Love" in 1949, playing on an alto saxophone instead of his usual tenor. His solo was later set to lyrics by Eddie Jefferson and recorded by King Pleasure, known as "Moody's Mood for Love," becoming a surprise hit in 1952. Throughout the rest of his career, Moody would be more known for the vocal version of the song based on his solo than for the instrumental version itself, and obliged requests for the song by singing his famous solo.

Through the 1950s and 1960s, he led his own bands, and worked alongside other saxophonists, notably Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt, with whom he co-led a three-tenor sax band. In 1963 he returned to the Dizzy Gillespie small group, where he largely remained until 1971. In 1975, he moved to Las Vegas and worked numerous hotel and casino shows with singers and comics, picking up the clarinet along the way. In 1979, he left Las Vegas and moved back to New York to lead his own quintet.

Then in 1989 he moved to San Diego and continued to work as a consummate soloist and member of all-star touring units. He continues to experiment with his music, sometimes including synthesizers on his recordings. He has occasionally taught on college and university campuses, and even played an acting role in the Clint Eastwood film Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Selected Discography
James Moody and Frank Foster in Paris, RCA, 1954
Moody's Mood for Blues, Original Jazz Classics, 1954-55
Return from Overbrook, GRP/Chess, 1956-58
Don't Look Away Now!, Original Jazz Classics, 1969
Mainly Mancini, Warner Brothers, 1997

Text from NEA Jazz Masters (NEA, 2004). Copies can be ordered free of charge through our Publications section.

National Endowment for the Arts
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