RIP Aaron Moore – Birthdate in question to November 27, 2013. Chicago blues piano great Aaron Moore passed away on Wednesday, November 27 after numerous ongoing health issues. His elegant piano playing and sweet vocals charmed audiences in Chicago for years. His birthdate has been reported differently by different sources; Sheven Sharp states in the liner notes of Aaron’s Boot ‘Em Up CD that the birthdate is February 11, 1928 (this reportedly from Aaron himself) but Aaron’s wife (via a note from Michael Frank) reports the birthdate as 10 years before.

Richard Skelly of All Music Guide provides this bio:

 

“Chicago-based blues pianist, singer and songwriter Aaron Moore is locally famous, but still rather obscure on the national blues scene. Moore spent most of the last 40 years in Chicago, backing up a long list of musicians including Little Walter, Lonnie Brooks, Hound Dog Taylor, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters and B.B. King. Born and raised in Greenwood, Mississippi, Moore was encouraged in his piano playing by his mother, who was a music teacher and church piano player; early on, he was influenced by Curtis Jones, and later Memphis Slim. Later on, after moving to Chicago, he learned from boogie-woogie paragon Roosevelt Sykes, and the two would often team up in blues clubs around Chicago. Moore worked for the city of Chicago for 36 years and played blues strictly on a freelance basis on weekends, backing up local bluesmen in club shows. After retiring from the Chicago Sanitation Department, Moore relocated to Milwaukee in 1990 and has been poised to make blues his full-time vocation in his retirement years.”

 

Aaron Moore had a late start in his recording career but should have been a star for his great talent. He had 2 wonderful albums on the Delmark label and was a major part of the Brewer Phillips “Home Brew” CD. Aaron also made guest appearances on CDs by Cleveland Fats, Rob Stone and Chris James & Patrick Rynn. Aaron’s glorious singing and piano work will be greatly missed.