Mike Moreno


Mike Moreno is a jazz guitarist and composer from Houston, Texas.
According to an NPR interview in 2008, Moreno's main musical influences include trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, saxophonist Wayne Shorter, and pianist Herbie Hancock, as well as guitarists Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell.

Career

Moreno began his musical training at the age of 15 at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston. When he was 18, he moved to New York City to attend the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music on a scholarship. Moreno has since toured and recorded extensively with many prominent musicians in jazz today, including The Joshua Redman Elastic Band, Lizz Wright Band, Nicholas Payton Quartet, Meshell Ndegeocello, The Robert Glasper Experiment, Stefon Harris Sonic Creed, Aaron Parks Quartet, Terence Blanchard Quintet, Greg Osby 4, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Jeff "Tain" Watts Quintet, Kenny Garrett Quintet, and Ravi Coltrane Quartet. He has also recorded and played with mainstream artists such as Bilal and Q-Tip, as well as peers John Ellis, Jeremy Pelt, and Marcus Strickland.
As a bandleader, Moreno has released six records. These include Lotus, released December 2015, Another Way, released March 2012, and his debut album, Between The Lines, released March 2007,Lienhard, Andrew,. "". Jazz/Houston. Retrieved Jan. 28, 2013. all through World Culture Music. Moreno's other records have been released through the Criss Cross Jazz label: First in Mind, released May 2011, Third Wish, released May 2008, and 3 for 3, released October 2017.
He is currently an Artist in Residence of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito College of Music in Ecuador.

In the media

Downbeat Magazine credits Moreno as "One of the most compelling guitarists in jazz today," while the New York Times describes him as "A versatile and increasingly prominent guitarist," who is "drawn to mystery and euphony." Nate Chinen for the JazzTimes writes: "There are many other guitarists out there pushing towards a modern ideal, but none with the precise coordinates that Mike Moreno has charted," and in an interview for the same magazine, jazz guitarist Pat Metheny describes Moreno as "a really talented guy who impressed me beyond the notes, for his general feeling, and what he's going for." The JazzTimes describes Moreno's sound as "lyrical," containing "spacious phrasing and luminous tone."

Discography

As leader