About Dexter
A South Philadelphia native, you could say music is in Dexter's genes. Like many talented musicians, Dexter’s initial exposure began in the church. A product of both ministers and musicians, his dad (a deacon) is a keyboardist/organist, his two brothers are drummers, and his sister sings actively in church. His late mother (an evangelist) also played both the piano and the drums in church.
Through his associations with other talented musicians, Dexter was introduced to Grammy-nominated artist and songwriter, the late Gabriel Hardeman, Jr., (Gabriel Hardeman and The Delegation) at a jam session in Camden in 1987 and this would profoundly change his music career forever. As fate would have it, Dexter became a full-fledged member of the Delegation almost 5 years after that chance encounter and is featured prominently as the main keyboardist on Gabriel's last CD recording entitled The Chief Musician.
In 1995, the Gabriel Hardeman Delegation was ground zero for the creation of one the hottest jazz bands in Philly and New Jersey. Through a mutual fondness for fusion jazz (and live music, period), the Delegation band members joined forces to become D-For, showcasing an eclectic array of styles in the jazz lexicon, including straight ahead jazz, smooth jazz and fusion jazz, but not too far out to encompass a little gospel, funk, and blues in the mix. The founding members are Dexter Moore (keys/programming), Don Stevens, Jr. (bass), Dennis James (drums), and the late Darryl Johnson, Sr. (guitar). Sensing a missing link to their sound, the band auditioned for a sax player and brought on Carl Cox, Jr. (from Deptford, NJ) to front the band. They recorded and released two CDs, The Gift (2000) and Christmas From the Heart (2002). In 2003, Dennis stepped down and was replaced by New Jersey native Elwin "Chunky" Ezekiel, Jr. and is featured on D-For's latest release, Intersection (2005). The band continues to perform locally and is currently working on their fourth CD release.
In 2012, Dexter, through a mutual association with D-For compadre Darryl Johnson, was connected with MiParis Music owner and gospel artist Michael Upshaw to work with gospel artist Kim Paris Upshaw on her 2nd gospel album release His Way, a 10-track LP featuring some of the hottest musicians in the music industry, including bass wiz Gerald Veasley and the ever-soulful Kirk Whalum on sax. Dexter and Michael continued their working relationship by co-producing a soulful jazzy revamp of gospel staple "My Soul is Anchored in the Lord" for Michael's debut gospel EP Steadfast, featuring jazz-funk pioneer Gerald Albright on alto sax. In 2016, Dexter and Michael cemented their working relationship and became partners in a new company, 1 Vision Music Productions LLC (1VMPLLC). For their production accomplishments, they were honored to receive the Producer of the Year award at the 2016 Prayze Factor Awards ceremony held in Atlanta, GA, partly sponsored by Tyscot Records. In October 2016, they released a gospel single, "Faithful", performed by Michael Upshaw and MP Voices. The track features the powerful and anointed voice of veteran gospel artist Tamika Patton. In the spring 2020 Dexter and Michael collaborated on Dexter's 3rd single titled "Night Rhythm." Dexter and Michael released a music video on YouTube to support the single.
In 2016, Dexter began to commercially release new music through his own company Right Side Music Productions LLC (RSMLLC), and the first artist produced by RSMLLC was Toni Moore, his wife and business partner. Toni debuted her EP Bossism in 2016. Showcasing elements of R&B, hip-hop and gospel, Toni wrote the lyrics and was the executive producer of the album while Dexter handled the music production. Next, in 2017, Dexter released his debut jazz album Keys to Life, a 10-song LP featuring musicians and artists mainly from the Philadelphia area. In the fall 2019, Dexter released a latin jazz single titled "Tienes Que Moverte" featuring John Legends' horn section and drum maestro John "Lil John" Roberts (Janet Jackson, Stevie Wonder.)
Dexter released his 2nd album titled Good Vibes, Always on February 26, 2021 with help from some of the very best players in the music industry: Reggie Parker (Hezekiah Walker, James Hall), Mark A. Walker Jr. (Gerald Albright, Richard Smallwood) and Jethaniel Nixon (Musiq Soulchild) on bass guitar; Steven "Maestro" Robinson (Selena Gomez) and Brandon Mullen (Common) on drums; Carl Cox (Maysa, D-For) on sax; Wendell "PoPs" Sewell (The Urban Guerilla Orchestra) and Barton French (Sisters Sledge) on lead and rhythm guitars; and MiParis Music artist Michael Upshaw on vocals. To promote this release, Dexter issued a radio version of "Good Vibes" as the lead-off single for radio campaigns by Bud Harner and Chapman Management.
Dexter recently released a new single Appreciate (feat. Jeff Murrell) in February 2022. This single is now available for download and streaming on all major digital platforms.
Aside from making music in his studio or performing live onstage, Dexter is first and foremost a family man, loves to do crossword puzzles and is a huge Philadelphia Eagles fan. Dexter also serves as a minister of music at his church.