#roilives

The blog is returning, finally, with a change in format. This space will be devoted to discussion and analysis of LeRoi Moore’s massive musical output. It will begin its change with an in-depth look at Live Trax 14 - 6.28.08 - Nissan Pavilion. LeRoi’s last show with Dave Matthews Band.

After the dissertation was written I felt a great sense of relief, but disoriented. I had put a massive flag in the ground for his legacy, his place in history. Now what? How do we keep this thing churning, how do we keep preaching the gospel of Roi?

One such Herculean task is to rewrite the dissertation. That I plan to do, but now I have the luxury of time. This space will be my corner of the world to talk all things LeRoi, where I can take what I know about his musicality and how deeply I connect with his music on an emotional level and combine them into a digital homage. Un musée numérique pour le roi.

I will provide musical examples, historical context, and coherent analysis but I will not be citing sources. If you want citations, read the book. If you’re that interested in a source (and I will always have them) then ask, or dig yourself. This is where I will come to build a reservoir of knowledge beyond the book. It is where I will, over time, pay back the enormous debt owed to him.

This is a long overdue update. I am finished. The dissertation is finished, defended, and I graduated with a Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Studies from the University of Nebraska. At the commencement, the program included my name and my dissertation. It was a shock to see my name next to LeRoi’s.

Below you will find a link to my website where you can download a PDF of my dissertation. Avoid the ProQuest upload, it was somehow mangled and they want money to reupload.

A few things about this dissertation:

- it is not exhaustive; there simply wasn’t time to include every little thing, leaving a lot of great stuff out of the interviews

- it is intended merely as a strong foundation into further research into his life and works

- the story is not finished; I will be researching him probably for as long as I live

So while this leg of the journey is over, for now I feel at peace with the nearly two years I spent with this document. The story of LeRoi Moore and his place in music is off to a good start, and I will resume it sometime in the future. But for now, a respite. For now, goodbye.

Hello all, I’ve been neglectful of this blog because things have been crazy busy. BUT - tonight is my lecture recital and it is being webcast for anyone to check out!