Mat Britain (steel pans and percussion) and Dan Moore (marimba, vibes and percussion) began their musical journey together way back in 1984 and they continue to record and perform their unique blend of musical styles that features everything from jazz to folk and pop, contemporary percussion, music of the world, their own unique original compositions, and creative arrangements of standard tunes that they call “treatments.”

The two first got together as a duo when they were students at Wichita State University studying with influential percussionist J.C. Combs. Britain was working on an undergraduate degree and studying steel pan. Moore was working on his master’s and focusing on marimba. Their first duo recording was the result of the need for an additional tune for a Wichita State University Steel Band recording. Dan and Mat skipped lunch to create their first BMD composition titled Clock on the Wall—a reference to the limited amount of time they had to create a new composition before the recording engineer returned from lunch.

Then in 1986, inspired by a one-off performance by Andy Narell and Dave Samuels, they formed the Britain Moore Duo and became the first touring steel pan/marimba duo. This trail-blazing pair has four commercial recordings to their credit including a four-song EP record titled The Britain/Moore Duo (1989); Cricket City (1993); Little World of Rhythm (2001); and Nutville (2014) which features thirteen groovy tracks that range from classic BMD tunes to large-scale productions—music from Argentina, Brazil, Trinidad, and the USA—all filtered through the BMD's one-of-a-kind musical lens.

The BMD performs throughout the country having presented countless concerts in colleges and universities, grade schools, secondary schools, jazz clubs, and music festivals. They’ve joined forces for performances and recordings with influential musicians such as Matt Wilson, Johnny Rabb, Danny Gottlieb, the late Ed Shaughnessy, Peter Erskine, The Percussion Group Nexus, Fernando Hashimoto, the late Tom Roady, Roy “Futureman” Wooten, and many others.

Moore has fine-tuned his approach to the marimba and vibes with hundreds of solo performances throughout the world over the last thirty years, also helping enhance the BMD’s global perspective on music. Mat has traveled to Trinidad to participate several times in the Panorama competition, and both have traveled to China to perform and learn traditional Chinese drumming.

They continue to perform and record as a duo making them one of the longest running percussion duos working today. Along the way, they’ve influenced a generation of percussionists who’ve performed their music and imitated their unique style.

For booking information contact: matbritain@gmail.com

Read more about the BMD:

  The Britain:Moore Duo: Journey Through Our Little World of Rhythm.pdf.

vintage BMD photo:  Karen Parko