© 2024 WBGO
Discover Jazz...Anywhere, Anytime, on Any Device.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

The Pulse: China Moses Talks About Her Musical Birthright, Her Global Vantage, and a New EP

Sylvain Norget

A self-described "French person with an American passport," China Moses is the definition of what it means to be a citizen of the world. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Paris, she's the offspring of NEA Jazz Master and GRAMMY-winning vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater and the late film producer and activist Gilbert Moses.

Her parents always knew she would be a star. Her dad predicted that she would be signed to Virgin Records — and at 16, she released her first single on the label, "Time." She was a pop/R&B artist in France from 1996 to 2004. Her mom always encouraged her to just be herself and no one else, never having given her a voice lesson.

The Pulse featuring China Moses

A television star for 13 years in France, Moses provided her voice for the French versions of The Princess and the Frog and The Lion King remake. Surprisingly, she has yet to really break into the American music market, having only moved back to the U.S. a few years ago. Her 2017 release, Nightintales, explores jazz, vintage R&B and cabaret. Her forthcoming EP, China Moses & The Vibe Tribe, drops Oct. 8, with a concerted effort to make her stateside introduction. (A lead single, "Nicotine," releases on Aug. 27.)

Moses is also a tastemaker and international radio personality, hosting “Made In China” on TSF Jazz on Thursdays at 7pm/Saturdays at 11am CEST, as well as “Late Night China Moses” on Jazz FM Monday through Thursday at 10pm GMT. Rooted purely in her love of supporting fellow artists, Moses plans to continue her work in radio while making music. She also mentors women in the music industry through The Woodshed Network, an initiative headed up by her mom, who serves as the Artistic Director.

On this episode of The Pulse, we discuss her musical upbringing and background, her career as an international radio host and vocalist, and the duality of living in two cultures.

Keanna Faircloth is a Washington, DC native and comes to WBGO getting her start on-air at WPFW 89.3 FM in 2003, most recently as the host of Late Night Jazz: The Continuum Experience. She is a graduate of Howard University having majored in Music History with a minor in Classical Piano. Keanna has written for NPR Music, and worked for Radio One as an on-air personality, producer and voice-over talent. She is also the creator and host of Artimacy Podcast, where she has interviewed artists like Wynton Marsalis, Matthew Whitaker, Jonathan Butler, and Dionne Warwick. As a result, she was recognized by Radio Ink Magazine as a 2019 African American leader in radio.