To continue safely serving our community of artists and audience members, Arts for Art is filming and releasing new performances on Tuesdays and Thursdays in January, February, and March. A pay-what-you-can donation is required to view each video. All donations will go towards AFA’s Artists & Friends Campaign.
About Francisco Mora Catlett:
Francisco Mora Catlett, drummer, composer and educator. Began his musical career in Mexico City where he worked as a session musician for Capitol Records 1968-1970. Studied at Music School of UNAM. With a grant from the Mexican government from 1970 to 1973 he study drums with Alan Dawson and composition at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. He left Mexico City with Sun Ra in 1973 and worked with him until 1980. In 1987 while in Detroit he released his first album as a leader, the Pan-Afro project “Mora!”
Among several grants, he received one from the NEA to study with Max Roach in New York City. Mora Catlett worked with several Roach's percussion ensemble M'Boom, appearing on two Blue Moon LPs, 1990's “To the Max” and 1992's “Live at S.O.B.'s” and in addition to composing for Mr. Roach’s Uptown String Quartet.
In 1993, he became a visiting professor at Michigan State University. Mora-Catlett played on Detroit’s Techno producer Carl Craig's 1996 jazz/electronica fusion project, “The Innerzone Orchestra” and 1999's “Programmed”. The same year, using Innerzone cohorts Craig Taborn and Rodney Whitaker, Mora Catlett issued a second album, “World Trade Music”. Following Mora Catlett's departure from Detroit in 2000 the Outer Zone Band’s first recording featuring Marshal Allen, Craig Taborn and Carl Craig was released.
In New York City Mora-Catlett co-founded the “Oyu Oro Afro-Cuban Experimental Dance Company” with his wife Danys Perez Prades “La Mora” dance-music project experimenting with and music from the African Diaspora that performs nationally and internationally.
Mora-Catlett has issued two releases with the “Freedom Jazz Trio. “ New Under The Sun”, recorded in 2010 featured Francesco Tristano, while “Live At The Bronx Museum” showcased Craig Taborn. A new ensemble, the Outer Zone Band’s issued “Andromeda M-31”, featuring Craig Taborn and JD Allen. Subsequent releases included: double Cd, “AfroHORN MX” (2012), AfroHORN "Rare Metal" (2013), and for AfroHORN "At the Edge of the Spiral (2015 -2016). A solo electronic music project recording (“Electric Worlds”) solo project to be released in 2021. Back to Berklee College of Music due to COVID -19 pandemic, enrolling in Composing and Producing Electronic Music I & II, and now preparing for a new Elctronic Music project 2022.
In recent years, Mora-Catlett has been featured in “artist residencies” at University of Iowa, Wayne State University, and Booker T. WashingtonHigh School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Long Island University, Brookhaven College, Richard College and others where his presentations often explore the themes of jazz and creativity while highlighting the work of his parents, artists Elizabeth Catlett and Francisco Mora Senior. He has established his own label AACE in order to distribute several of these projects.
