Biography of Moss Project

Whilst studying composition and performance at the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, Moss Freed formed The Moss Project as a sextet to provide a platform for progressive and exciting new music. On returning to his hometown of Manchester, he established a group there under the same name who performed a highly anticipated debut gig at Matt & Phred’s Jazz Club in November, 2007, where they quickly established a monthly residency. Their debut album, ‘Vision’, was released on 23.11.09 on Apsara Records and is an intense and emotional musical experience appealing to listeners from all backgrounds. The album secured a distribution deal with Baked Goods Distribution and won much critical praise being described as “a real achievement” by Bill Bruford and as “a fascinating and hypnotically satisfying album which demands repeated plays” by All About Jazz.

The band have performed regularly in the UK and Europe over the past three years including the London Jazz Festival and Manchester International Jazz Festival and have completed several successful tours in the UK and Germany including dates at London’s Vortex and the Birdland in Hamburg. The group have had a regular residency at Ambleside’s Zeffirelli’s since 2008 and have had radio play on Jazz FM, BBC Manchester and ALL FM.

In September 2009, Moss made the move to London and quickly established himself as part of the thriving jazz scene, securing several gigs in the capital including multiple performances at Green Note, Charlie Wright’s and the North London Tavern. A new quartet evolved and now features several of the UK’s rising stars such as Acoustic Ladyland’s Ruth Goller, brilliant young drummer Joshua Blackmore (Troyka/Curios) and vocalist/violinist, Alice Zawadzki.

The quartet are embarking on German and UK launch tours in April 2011 including dates in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Ambleside and Edinburgh and plan to record a new album in June.

Born in Manchester, Moss Freed took up the guitar aged eleven and began a music degree at Edinburgh University in 2000. Having graduated with 1st class honours in 2004, Moss was awarded scholarships from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, the Bucher/Fraser Trust and the Berklee World Scholarship Tour to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston where he attained a GPA of 4.0 and a place on the Dean’s List. Moss has performed as a guitarist and had classical works performed around the world with his radio play including Jazz FM and BBC6 Music. Moss is an active music educator, lecturing in harmony and composition at Salford University, examining for the Rockschool exam board and teaching guitar regularly.

“Exciting guitarist Moss Freed leads his Radiohead-tinged outfit through moody, cinematic sounds that blur the lines between folk, rock and jazz with imagination and flair.” TimeOut