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VETERAN jazz star James Moody was the latest internationally- acclaimed maestro to fly into Bahrain to thrill music connoisseurs.
A sensational series of summer concerts have stunned organisers by their popularity and the 84-year-old legendary jazz saxophone and flute player had them queuing round the blocks again.
He told GulfWeekly: "I am very excited to be in Bahrain and to meet with the wonderful people living here and to be able to see some of the sights. I am especially glad that my wife, Linda, is with me so I can share this with her."
Despite touring the world and thrilling fans with his sax playing prowess, he believes his musical journey is never ending. "Jazz is a profound music," he explained. "The longer I play and practice, the more I realise how much more I have to learn."
Moody was born in Savannah in the US state of Georgia. As he grew up in New Jersey, he was attracted to the saxophone after hearing George Holmes Tate, Don Byas and Count Basie.
He said: "I was 16 years old when my Uncle Louie bought me my first saxophone. I loved the way it looked and sounded.
"I loved Jazz because that's what I heard at home growing up. My mother had many Jazz records and that's what my ears became accustomed to hearing. I am grateful to my mother for having such intellectual music in our home!"
He joined the US Air Force in 1943 and played in the 'negro band' on the segregated base. Following his discharge from the military in 1946 he played be-bop with Dizzy Gillespie for two years. His colleague in the Gillespie group, pianist Kenny Barron would be an important musical collaborator in the coming decades.
In 1948 he recorded his first album, the first of a long recording career playing both saxophone and flute. That same year he relocated to Europe, where he stayed for three years, saying he had been 'scarred by racism' in the US.
In 1949 Moody recorded 'I'm in the Mood for Love' and it became synonymous with his name. Three years later, Eddie Jefferson wrote lyrics to Moody's solo. A singer named King Pleasure recorded it, and it became a big hit, but Moody wasn't on that record. So in 1956, he called Jefferson and, with mostly his regular band, recorded a version and 'Moody's Mood for Love' became the title of a highly-acclaimed album.
Even as an octogenarian, Moody travels and performs globally, both as a featured guest and as a leader of his own group, the James Moody Quartet. He said he had brought the 'best in musicianship' with him to Bahrain - Bill Cunliffe on piano, Clayton Cameron on drums, John Lee on Bass, Greg Gisbert on Trumpet, Antonio Hart on Alto Sax and Henry Johnson on Guitar.
Moody was on his first trip to the kingdom, although he once attended a music event in neighbouring Dubai featuring the University of Pittsburgh Jazz programme with Dr Nathan Davis. Shortly before he stepped on stage in Bahrain on Monday evening at the Cultural Hall in Manama, he said: "We are really looking forward to being here and experiencing as much as we can in such a short time."
Today jazz is considered a classic American art form. In its early years jazz, however, was considered barbaric and immoral by diverse segments of the public. During a 1998 interview, Moody stated that he believes jazz has definite spiritual resonance: "Jazz is a spiritual music, and anything that's spiritual can't go along with what the devil does, OK?"
