Meet Mo Egeston

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mo Egeston. 

Hi Mo, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My public story is primarily told through the bands I’ve led so here’s the basic rundown:

My love for jazz-influenced groove-driven music developed on the dancefloors and in the lounges of St. Louis’ underground electronic music scene about 25 years ago. While completing my Masters (Chamber Music & Accompanying) at Southern Illinois University (Edwardsville), I began my band career with Invincible Groov. We were a funk/soul outfit that was part of the Washington Avenue nightlife scene with a residency at the Green Room, one of the early hybrid live music/DJ nightclubs in that scene.

From Invincible Groov, Vargas Soundsystem was formed behind veteran funk/rock vocalist Pete Bold and featured some great young jazz players from the SIU-E music scene. (Jason Swagler, Miles Vandiver, Shaun Robinso, Zeb Briskovich and later Charlie Rastorfer) Vargas Soundsystem became Vargas Swing in 1997, and we quickly gained the reputation as one of the Midwest’s top show bands after adding trumpeter and songwriter Dawn Weber. Vargas Swing recorded an album “FIRE” in 1998, toured in 1999, and appeared on two national compilations in 1999-2000.

Next up was the pioneering live electronica act Urban Jazz Naturals (2000- 2005). UJN released a debut EP followed by two singles in the DJ-driven dance market. These releases, How Can I (Gallery-JT Donaldson edit) and the Urban Jazz EP with a remix by Demarkus Lewis (Large Music), made some noise globally thanks to support by industry vets such as Derrick Carter and Mark Farina.

Building on the sound of UJN, Mo & Dawn was born as primarily a live lounge project. Beats, soul and jazz essentially, featuring remixes of songs from our previous bands along with new material.

After Mo & Dawn, I joined or led the following projects: Brothers Lazaroff (2008-2014), Coco & Mo/Soul Alliance (2010-2014), and Urban Groov Project.

And currently I lead Mo Egeston All-Stars (Mo E All-Stars) and Mo E Trio.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve been very fortunate to work with incredibly talented folks from day one. I think the biggest challenge for me (aside from the fact that being a self-employed musician in St. Louis is just hard!) has been finding balance. Life, health and career. Leading bands vs making art.

Being a bandleader just happened by circumstance and being in charge is not always amazing….basically when you’re fortunate enough to lead bands that are full of talent and keep a full calendar, the marketing, organizational and management aspects can easily be overwhelming.

But the opportunities I had, due in no small part to who I was working with, motivated me to figure it out eventually and put me in a place to start leading bands under my own name. The Mo E projects wouldn’t have happened if it were not for the things I learned being in charge of parts or all of my earlier collaborations.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I have a very broad approach to music and I think being able to converse in a wide range of musical styles is what I’m most proud of and likely known for.

My training through my Masters was mostly in classical piano, and teaching and accompanying in this world is basically my day job. But with bands, I’ve worked in everything from groove jazz to electronica to Americana. And I enjoy it all!

My current focus is on Mo E All-Stars (Mo Egeston All-Stars) and Mo E Trio, which both perform a groove-driven style of music incorporating rhythms inspired by electronic music such as house, downtempo, trip-hop, and drum & bass; blended with Jazz, Latin, Soul, and R&B. The Mo E projects are where I feature my own original music as well as vocal and instrumental arrangements of jazz, soul, electronic and funk classics.

Like most artists, the pandemic derailed a lot of my plans with this group. We quietly released 5 singles in 2020-21. Plans are developing to return to the studio for a video recording project in late 2021 or early 2022.

Recent highlights include:

2020-21 New Singles: Amen Breakfast, Home, Popcorn Blue, Looking down the Rabbit Hole, and Morning

2016-20 Developed and Hosted “Late Night Grooves” at the Dark Room

2017 Released Groove Suites Vol. 1 with Mo E All-Stars

2017 Named a Kranzberg Arts Foundation Music Resident (debut class)

2016 Supervised the music for a documentary that was shown at the Sheldon Art Gallery in the Spring of 2017. Higher Ground highlights the conditions and history of Washington Park Cemetery in St. Louis.

As a pianist, educator, accompanist, and chamber player (my day job):

From 2000-2002 and from 2012-2017 I taught at McKendree University. I also taught Music at Columbia College-STL for 20+ years. Currently, I run Mo Egeston Piano Studio and I teach at Teipen Performing Arts.

I continue to work as an accompanist with area middle and high school students at recitals and festivals throughout the region.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
What I love- the people. The Midwest approachability and wide range of talented folks that live here.

What I like least is the divided nature of our region. I grew up in the suburbs but have lived in the city my entire adult life. At some point, I’d love to see our suburban neighbors recognize that for the region to thrive, the entire urban core must thrive. Including and especially North of Delmar.

Contact Info:

• Website: moegeston.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moegeston/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MoEgestonMusician
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MoEgeston
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX4IaIQNAWDleIEPY4IDQNA
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/moegeston

Image Credits
Phillip Hamer
Mo Egeston