Maurice "Mo" Egeston - pianist-producer-educator
Pianist, educator and electronica artist Maurice"Mo" Egeston.
In 2009 MO-ISME Productions is proud to present the Soul Alliance featuring CocoSoul and the Urban Groov Project a collaboration with Lamar Harris.
You can also catch Mo holding down the piano/synth chair in the STL version of the Brothers Lazaroff
Recent work includes the remix project(2005- 2008), Vargas Swing (1997-2006) and Urban Jazz Naturals (2000-2004).
L
isten to mo's work as a solo artist here. Join mo on myspace,facebook and thesixtyone I blog new releases and updates at http://moegeston.blogspot.com . Or just join the Mo Egeston mailing list below and you will receive schedule updates, information and free downloads.
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Mo Egeston's love for all grooves electronic began on the dancefloors of St. Louis' underground house scene almost 20 years ago. (You know who you are DJ Steve-O!) . Since those days his career has been a diverse journey of musical discovery and education. After graduate school at Southern Illinois University (Edwardsville), Mo's band career began with Invincible Groov. Something about starting your first band in your mid 20s AFTER college is a little um backwards....but we digress. Invincible Groov was a funk/groove band that enjoyed a successful residency at the Green Room, one of St. Louis, Missouri's (USA) first Washington Ave. hotspots.
From Invincible Groov, Vargas Soundsystem was formed by combining some of the premier jazz players in the area to back veteran funk/rock vocalist Pete Bold.
1997 saw the Soundsystem become Vargas Swing, which quickly gained the reputation as one of the Midwest's top show bands. Vargas Swing recorded an album "FIRE" in 1998, toured the country in 1999 and appeared on two national compilations in 1999-2000. (Hipsters, Zoots and Wingtips Vol. 3/Hip- O Records and Swing Set/House of Blues) Vargas continued as one of St. Louis' most prominent bands through 2006.
Eclipsing the national rep acquired by Vargas Swing, the pioneering live electronica act Urban Jazz Naturals (2000- 2005) has been the most successful project to date. UJN released a debut EP followed by two singles in the DJ driven dance market.
These releases, How Can I (Gallery) with a remix by JT Donaldson and the Urban Jazz EP with a remix by Demarkus Lewis (Large Music), were both written by mo & dawn with mixing and beat support from UJN. (Christian Oncken aka XJN and D. Tinsley) The singles have been supported in clubs globally by some of the industry's top DJs, including legends Derrick Carter and Mark Farina, followed by glowing write-ups in magazines such as Urb and BPM magazine.
Building on the sound of UJN, the remix project was born. The sound was still all about live electronica, but with complete freedom of style and musical collaboration. The new set included house, trip hop, electro funk, soul, acid jazz and drum& bass. Mo remixed every track written for UJN as well as some tracks from the original Vargas Swing EP plus lots of new material.
With all of his original and lounge projects Mo's job is to mix the groove and play the keys.
(the mobile beat rig)
As a pianist Mo, who did his graduate work at SIU-Edwardsville, is a respected chamber player and accompanist. He has performed with the Nuevo Tango (New Tango a la Astor Piazolla) ensemble ConcerTango that featured current and former St. Louis Symphony Orchestra players along with Webster University Faculty members. In 2000, Mo accompanied trumpeter Dawn Weber at the Ellsworth-Smith International Trumpet Competition in Bad Sackingen, Germany.
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Funk, Soul, House, Jazz and Rock. Info can be found at www.thesoulalliancestl.com