Bob Moses | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Robert Laurence Moses |
Also known as | Ra-Kalam Bob Moses |
Born | New York City, U.S. | January 28, 1948
Genres | Jazz, avant-garde jazz |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument | Drums |
Years active | 1964–present |
Labels | Gramavision |
Bob Moses (born January 28, 1948)[1] is an American jazz drummer.
Biography
He was born in New York, United States.[1] Moses played with Roland Kirk in 1964–65 while he was still a teenager.[1] In 1966, he and Larry Coryell formed The Free Spirits, a jazz fusion ensemble, and from 1967 to 1969 he played in Gary Burton's quartet, including drumming for the Grammy-nominated album Gary Burton Quartet in Concert.[1] He played on the landmark 1967 Burton album A Genuine Tong Funeral, but due to creative disputes with the album's composer Carla Bley the drummer was credited as "Lonesome Dragon".[2] Moses and Bley would later reconcile and he became a vocal booster for her music.
Moses recorded with Burton in the 1970s, in addition to work with Dave Liebman/Open Sky, Pat Metheny, Mike Gibbs, Hal Galper, Gil Goldstein, Steve Swallow, Steve Kuhn/Sheila Jordan (from 1979 to 1982), George Gruntz, and Emily Remler (from 1983 to 1984).[1] In the early 1970s he was a member of Compost with Harold Vick, Jumma Santos, Jack Gregg and Jack DeJohnette.[1]
His first release as a leader was 1968's Love Animal. His second release was 1973's Bittersuite in the Ozone. His records for Gramavision in the 1980s were critically acclaimed.[1]
He is the author of the drum method book Drum Wisdom.[3]
Moses performs alongside John Lockwood, Damon Smith, Jaap Blonk, Don Pate, and John Medeski with guitarist Tisziji Muñoz and teaches at New England Conservatory.
In 2022, he recorded a trio album with the Norwegian bassist Arild Andersen and Slovenian guitarist Samo Salamon entitled Pure and Simple.
Discography
As leader
- Bittersuite in the Ozone (Mozown, 1975)
- Tributaries with Richard Sussman, Andy LaVerne (Inner City, 1979)
- Family (Sutra, 1980)
- When Elephants Dream of Music (Gramavision, 1983)
- Visit with the Great Spirit (Gramavision, 1984)
- The Story of Moses (Gramavision, 1987)
- Drumming Birds with Billy Martin (ITM, 1987)
- Wheels of Colored Light (Open Minds, 1992)
- Time Stood Still (Gramavision, 1994)
- Devotion (Soul Note, 1996)
- Love Everlasting with Tisziji Muñoz (Amulet, 1999)
- Nishoma (Grapeshot, 2000)
- Love Animal (Amulet, 2003)
- Meditation On Grace with Michel Lambert (FMR, 2008)
- Father's Day B'hash (Sunnyside, 2009)
- The Illuminated Heart (Ra-Kalam, 2012)
- Ecstatic Weanderings with Greg Burk (Jazzwerkstatt, 2012)
- Ultra Minor with Jon Catler (FreeNote, 2018)
With Compost
- Take Off Your Body (Columbia, 1971)
- Life Is Round (Columbia, 1973)
- Out of Sight and Sound (ABC, 1967)
- Live at the Scene (Sunbeam, 2011) – live
As sideman
With Gary Burton
- Lofty Fake Anagram (RCA, 1967)
- A Genuine Tong Funeral (RCA, 1968)
- Gary Burton Quartet in Concert (RCA, 1968)
- Ring (ECM, 1974)
- Dreams So Real (ECM, 1976)
With Michael Gibbs
- In the Public Interest (Polydor, 1974)
- Directs the Only Chrome-Waterfall Orchestra (Bronze, 1975)
- Big Music (Venture, 1988)
- By the Way (Ah Um, 1993)
With Steve Kuhn
- Motility (ECM, 1977)
- Non-Fiction (ECM, 1978)
- Playground (ECM, 1980)
- Last Year's Waltz (ECM, 1982)
With Dave Liebman
- Drum Ode (ECM, 1975)
- Homage to John Coltrane (Owl, 1987)
- Spirit Renewed (Owl, 1991)
With Steve Marcus
- Tomorrow Never Knows (Vortex, 1968)
- Count's Rock Band (Vortex, 1969)
- The Lord's Prayer (Vortex, 1969)
With Tisziji Muñoz
- The Paradox of Independence (Anami Music, 2014)
- When Coltrane Calls! Session 3: Living Immortality (Anami Music, 2015)
- Scream of Ensoundment (Anami Music, 2017)
With others
- Roland Kirk, I Talk with the Spirits (Limelight, 1965)
- Larry Coryell, Lady Coryell (Vanguard, 1968)
- Danny Kalb, Crosscurrents (Cotillion, 1969)
- Terumasa Hino, Hino's Journey to Air (Love 1970)
- Todd Rundgren, Runt (Ampex, 1970)
- Paul Bley, The Paul Bley Synthesizer Show (Milestone, 1971)
- Gunter Hampel, Ballet-Symphony No 5, Symphony No. 6 The Music of Gunter Hampel (1971)
- Pat Metheny, Bright Size Life (ECM, 1976)
- David Friesen, Waterfall Rainbow (Inner City, 1977)
- Gil Goldstein, Pure As Rain (Chiaroscuro, 1977)
- Roland Kirk, Kirk's Work (Mercury, 1977)
- Ernie Krivda, Satanic (Inner City, 1977)
- Ernie Krivda, The Alchemist (Inner City, 1978)
- Franco Ambrosetti, Close Encounter (Enja, 1978)
- Hal Galper, Speak with a Single Voice (Century, 1979)
- Steve Swallow, Home (ECM, 1980)
- Aki Takase, ABC (Union Jazz, 1982)
- George Gruntz, Theatre (ECM, 1984)
- Emily Remler, Transitions (Concord Jazz, 1984)
- Emily Remler, Catwalk (Concord Jazz, 1985)
- Tony Dagradi, Sweet Remembrance (Gramavision, 1987)
- George Gruntz, Happening Now! (hat ART 1988)
- Torsten de Winkel, Torsten De Winkel Acoustic Quartet (Hot Wire, 1991)
- Hal Galper, Redux '78 (Concord Jazz, 1991)
- Torsten de Winkel, Tribute: Talking to the Spirits (Hot Wire, 1993)
- Kustomized, The Battle for Space (Matador, 1995)
- Paul Bley, Circles (Milestone, 2004)
- Brian Landrus, Forward (Cadence, 2009)
- Darius Jones, Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing) (AUM Fidelity, 2009)
- Brian Landrus, Everlasting (CIMP, 2011)
- Kari Ikonen, Ikonostasis (Ozella, 2017)
- Bukky Leo, Spaceships Over Africa (Ra Kalam Records, 2017)
- Vinny Golia & Henry Kaiser, Astral Plane Crash (Balance Point, 2018)
- Burton Greene, Damon Smith, Life's Intense Mystery (Astral Spirits/Monofonus 2019)
- Henry Kaiser, More Requia (Metalanguage, 2019)
- Samo Salamon, Arild Andersen & Ra Kalam Bob Moses, Pure and Simple (Samo Records, 2022)
- Samo Salamon, Vasil Hadžimanov & Ra Kalam Bob Moses, Dances of Freedom (Samo Records, 2024)
References
- Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1761. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- ^ Ethan Iverson, A Lifetime of Carla Bley, The New Yorker, May 13, 2018
- ^ Moses, Bob; Mattingly, Rick (1984). Drum Wisdom. Modern Drummer.
- General references