Front woman Denise Moore has led a distinguished life as a
professional vocalist for more than 30 years, and her powerful voice is as
captivating as ever. In 1976, her
musical career officially launched with Phil and the Blanks, featuring the
Blanketts. They performed original
songs and swing tunes reminiscent of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks. Proudly, the
band developed into one of
the Athens, Georgia’s best-known college bands.
Denise eventually moved to Tampa to start a
family, but she
quickly reconnected to her musical roots.
She joined Paul Wilborn and the Pop Tarts, which became Tampa’s premier
party-band of the 1980’s. Before
disbanding, the band enjoyed legendary popularity, appearing on a Gasparilla
Pirate Festival float and an appearance with the well-known comedian George
Carlin on New Year's Eve.
With her professional background,
impeccable vocal skills and absolutely luscious voice, Denise began
fronting Denise Moore and Then Some in 1994. The group began performing classic R&B and jazz;
however, the ensemble truly excels in traditional jazz, as can be heard in the
music samples from their 2003 live recording.
Denise partnered with Dan O'Hara, the musical director,
to
arrange most of the standards that makeup their musical selection.
Collectively,
Denise and Dan have led this dynamic ensemble
to become an integral part of Tampa’s music scene. Denise Moore and Then Some have played at such venues as the
Jazz Cellar in Ybor City, Da Tulio's in Palm Harbor, Michael’s on East in
Sarasota and upscale clubs in Channelside. Also, they notably opened Club 442, a swinging jazz Club
near UT. Their musical resume is
riddled with festivals, such as the Gasparilla Sidewalk Art Festival, Einstein
on Wine, Sea Grapes, Abilities Wine & Food Festival, Plant City Jazz
Festival, Dade City Jazz Festival, Ybor Jazz Festival and many more jazz themed
events.
In July of 2009, Denise was introduced to the famed Billy Marcus. A perfect musical match
was made. Find out more about Billy @www.BillyMarcus.com.
The Murray Studio @ Ruth Eckard and
the Palladium concerts with Billy have been very successful. Excerpts from both concerts can be heard here on this site.
In addition to fronting Denise Moore and Then Some, Denise
was also a featured vocalist for the Tampa Bay Women's Blues Revue for the past ten
years. In 2002, the ten-piece
group of divas recorded “Tell it.”
The group received the Virginia Slims Diva award in 1999, which donated
$10,000 to the Tampa AIDS network. To learn more about their mixture of rhythm
and soul, follow this link to the Women's
Blues Revue.
With versatility and years of experience in entertaining the
Tampa Bay area, Denise remains an ever-blossoming
artist that is sure to delight her audience.