Mocean Worker

Mocean Worker is the alias that jazz producer Adam Dorn uses for his jazz-inspired projects. The son of the late legend Joel Dorn, a major producer at Atlantic during the 1960s and ’70s and founder of a few labels of his own, Adam Dorn often worked with his father in the later years. Dorn, who plays bass and sings, studied at the Berklee College of Music. He has worked as a producer with some top artists, including David Sanborn and Chaka Khan, and also helped produce reissues for his father’s 32 Records. The Mocean Worker project began as a bit of a lark when Adam Dorn recorded a few sessions for the fun of it. After a period, he took it more seriously and he has thus far recorded five CDs in his one-man-band projects.

Dorn’s samples are diverse and unusual, with jazz and pop greats making cameo appearances and being surrounded in inventive ways by electronics and new rhythms. Some of the music comes across as tributes to the immortal singers and musicians but it also looks forward with the utilization of modern technology and Dorn’s wit. Since two of his CDs are titled Aural & Hearty and Cinco de Mowo, humor is not exactly absent in this colorful and unusual music. The Mocean Worker project, with a full band, has also made occasional and rare club and festival appearances.