Moritz, Jonathan

(photo by Michelle Arcila)

Primary Scene: Brooklyn/New York

Saxophonist Jonathan Moritz was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1977, of a Persian-Jewish-Belgian family, but moved to southern California at an early age, where he continued to be exposed to diverse musical influences. He attended the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, 1995-98, where he concentrated on straight ahead jazz, and subsequently studied at the California Institute of the Arts, 1998-2000, where he completed his BFA in jazz performance. At the latter school, he studied with Wadada Leo Smith, Vinny Golia, and many others who made their imprint on him as an artist and musician. Shortly after graduation, he moved to News York City, where he has been performing live since 2003.

As an educator, he has led workshops on improvisation at Oakwood High School in Los Angeles, University of Michigan, and ISIM at University of California-San Diego. He has also directed an instrumental music program at the Morris H. Weiss School since 2003. He graduated with a M.A. in Music Education in 2007. Since 2005, Moritz, together with his wife, French designer Elodie Blanchard, have jointly curated the Prospect Series of house concerts.

Moritz has recorded with musicians such as Eugene Chadbourne, Ben Gerstein, John McLellan, Sam Mickens, Eivind Opsvik, Mike Pride, Jason Stein, Nate Wooley and Jack Wright. He has toured throughout North America and Europe.