Editor’s note: This is the first of a seven part series profiling the students of the Thelonius Monk Institute. The other profiles will appear throughout the school year.
Unlike the six other students at the Thelonious Monk Institute, for David Mooney, being in New Orleans is being home.
Mooney grew up near the University of New Orleans, an area ravaged two years ago by Hurricane Katrina. Today, living with his wife in the Garden District, he’s back for the first time in almost two years. He spent the time moving between Mississippi, New York City and Washington D.C. Mooney plays jazz guitar, a seven-string archtop built by Jimmy Foster.
Mooney wanted to be a jazz musician his entire life. While living near UNO, he went to Benjamin Franklin High School in the morning and to the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts later in the afternoon. It was during his time at NOCCA and at Loyola University’s summer jazz camps that he met some of his greatest teachers and influences. Mooney continued mastering his craft, obtaining a master’s degree from UNO in jazz studies and becoming part of the Louis Armstrong Quintet, which frequently toured local schools and helped teach local children in jazz workshops. Mooney enjoyed teaching, as it helped him become a better player.
“You learn a lot about yourself. It helps you to understand what you’re doing to put it into words,” he said.
Mooney also played at many of the clubs and bars in the Faubourg Marigny, where he made many friends and gleaned valuable experience. The club d.b.a. on Frenchmen Street saw Mooney playing often. Michael Garran, an employee, said, “He’s a talented guitarist, punctual and very low maintenance. He was a good guy.”
At Snug Harbor, also on Frenchmen Street, manager Jay Christman had nothing but praise for Mooney. “He’s one of the finest young jazz musicians in town. He’s inspiring other young jazz musicians.”
When Katrina took its toll, Mooney’s mother left for Baton Rouge, and his father left for Dallas. Mooney, his wife and his band went to Mississippi. It was during this time that he entered a guitar contest held by the Thelonious Monk Institute. The preliminary round of the competition required artists to send in a tape or CD of their work, and the top 10 were selected to perform in Washington, D.C. In September 2005, Mooney placed 3rd in the competition.
For Mooney, the contest was no cakewalk. He played pieces in front of a panel of judges and jazz greats. Jazz musicians such as Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter were backstage cracking jokes and playing songs. Meanwhile, Mooney said, the rest of the contestants “were there all nervous, you know, like going out of our minds, freaking out at this competition.”
Mooney moved once more to New York City, where he stayed until August 2007. When he came back to New Orleans, he found that his home had suffered little damage. Mooney’s house sat on cinder blocks, so the floodwaters only came up to the porch.
His mother, who was still living near UNO, wasn’t so lucky. Her house suffered substantial damage. Now Mooney is enrolled in the institute’s two-year program in which he plays with some of the best up-and-coming talent and well-established artists in the jazz industry.
At his audition for the Monk Institute, he found that “it was still scary, but it wasn’t as scary as it would have been had I not done it two years before.”
Whether he’s playing in front of musicians such as Shorter or Terence Blanchard, the institute can be rigorous, Mooney says. Students must write their own pieces, and Mooney has already written two this week and still has more to write. “We’re supposed to write three. Because Terence Blanchard is coming back, we have three more to write for him,” he said.
Mooney intends to eventually move back to New York City where he will practice his art.
Andrew Poland can be reached at [email protected].
