Jesse Moody was educated in the Baltimore City Public School system, where he began his formal music training at the age of nine. He studied percussion with Dale Rauschenburg at Towson State University and while there performed in the Towson State University Gospel Choir, Percussion Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble. Studied jazz composition and performance with Hank Levy. First professional band, Lewis Hamlin Big Band, toured Georgia twice.

Performed with:
Curtis Fuller (Art Blakely), Frank Wess (Count Basie Band), Vince Prudente (Duke Ellington), Buster Cooper (Duke Ellington), Sonny Cohen (Count Basie), Phil Woods, Lewis Hamlin (previously with James Brown), Ruby Glover, Brenda Alford, Andy Ennis (Ray Charles), Mickey Fields, Paul Gill (Diana Krall) George Colligan (Gary Bartz), Carl Cornwell (Gil Scott-Heron, Pharoah Sanders), Wilson Pickett, Gary Thomas (Miles Davis), Dontae Winslow, Tim Murphy, Moe Daniels (Najee), Kevin Walker (Najee), Peter Fraize, Paul Bollenback (Joey DeFrancesco), Daryll Hunt (Yolanda Adams), Cyrus Chestnut, Tommy Williams (Jimmy Heath), Elliot Levine (Heatwave), Benjie Porecki (Pieces of a Dream, Maysa), Maysa Leake, Gary Grainger (John Scofield), Chaney Thomas ( Buck Hill), Gabrielle Goodman, Fred Hughes (Arturo Sandoval), Vaughn Nark, Terry Battle (Herbie Mann), Brian Kooken (William Becton), Greg Hatza (Moon August, TheGreg Hatza Organiza-tion). Wendell Sheppard (Chuck Brown), Craig Alston (Fertile Ground), Ralph Lalama (Carnegie Hall Jazz Band), Big Jesse Yawn, Larry Willis (Roy Hargrove)
The Braxton Sisters, Marshall Keys, Greg Boyer, Michael Bowie

Performance Venues:

• Clubs:  Blues Alley, Ethel’s Place, Bayou Blues, King of France Tavern
• Concerts/Festivals:  Blue Heron Blues Festival, D.C. Waterfront Jazz Festival,
• East Coast Jazz Festival, Harrisburg, PA. Jazz Festival, Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Pier 6 Pavillion, Artscape; HONFEST
• Musical Theater:  Jelly’s Last Jam (Howard University), The Music Man, Leader of the Pack, West Side Story, The Avenue, Dreamgirls, The Billie Holiday Story
• Movie Premieres:  He Said, She Said; Pecker (both at Senator Theatre)

Television Appearances:

• Jazz Suite –  with Moon August, Dontae Winslow
• Turn It Up  - with Baltimore's Big Band
• Channel 2's Rodericks for Breakfast
• BET on JAZZ channel
• Holiday Music Series – WJZ-TV

Film Appearance:

• Avalon, directed by Barry Levinson

Interviews:

• WEAA, 88.9 FM,  Morgan State University
• WTMD, 89.7 FM, Towson University

Recordings:

• Comings and Goings - Greg Thompkins Quartet
• He Has Yet to Come - Steve Swann Quintet
• Three songs from the movie Avalon
• Live at the Café Hon – Michael Raitzyk Trio

Awards:

• 1981 - Semper Fidelis award for Outstanding Bandsmen, U.S. Marines 
• 1986 – As Baltimore Jazz Quest Winner, opened for Bobby McFerrin
• 1987 – Awarded Top Musician, Lewis Hamlin Big Band
• 1992 - Hennesey Jazz Competition Winner
• 1998 - 3rd place in Search for a Star competition at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall

Community Leadership:

• Current musician-in-residence at Kuumba Theater, Baltimore County’s first African-American community theater
• Mentor to drummers at Essex Community College and Morgan State University

 Equipment List:

• Drums – Maryland Drum 4 pc. Kit 
• Cymbals - Zildjian K Customs – 14” Istanbul Mehmet Hi-Hats, 20" K Custom Dry Ride, 18” Session Crash, 20” ZHT Flat Ride
• Sticks - Regal Tip E  Series Jazz (wooden and nylon tip), Vic Firth Peter Erskine Ride Sticks & Brushes - Vic Firth
• Other - Calato Blasticks and Promark Hotrods