BLUE CANOE RECORDS
  • Home
  • Radio
  • News
  • ARTISTS
    • See All Artists
    • Artist Of The Month
  • Releases
    • See All Releases
    • Song Of The Day
    • Album Of The Week
  • Store
  • BCR
    • About
    • Contact
    • Japanese Division
    • Licensing
  • Social
    • Playlists
    • TV

All About Jazz - JPM's Drum n Bass Society

8/1/2004

Comments

 
Picture
AllAboutJazz.com
Review by: Mark Sabbatini

When an album opens with a quirky reinterpretation of the 1980s hit “Down Under” it’s safe to assume the artist is looking to have a good time. Joseph Patrick Moore succeeds to a degree in bringing listeners along on Drum And Bass Society, Vol. 1, even if the cast of players doesn’t quite let its collective hair down enough to make this a consistent fun fest throughout. It’s an all-over-the-map jam band romp where nobody’s the life of the party, but almost everyone has something interesting to say if you focus on them amidst the din.

The fifteen tracks include seven originals by the bass player, plus reinterpretations of hits by groups such as Phish, The Specials, and The Fixx. It’s a radical departure from Moore’s 2002 multi-tracked solo album Alone Together, with the new release featuring more than twenty musicians and only a couple of songs where Moore solos—his arranging of this huge cast is the main contribution.

The most unfortunate moment is Moore’s slow reggae treatment of “Down Under,” which might have been a readily identifiable crowd-pleaser, but instead comes across as unimaginative and badly at odds with the album’s overall beat. The vocals are played straight and the instrumentalists avoid anything notable for a radio-safe four minutes. The concept works much better on “One Thing Leads To Another” as one of the wind players takes over immediately on flute and doesn’t let go throughout a peppery string of phrases. It’s hardly the inspired madness of the Bad Plus, but is a plus rather than a minus to the album.

Speaking of inspired madness, some of the better moments of it occur on the hybrid world/funk/whatever collage of “Cheesefrog Funk.” “Groove Messenger” delivers a decent bit of fusion in the style of Miles Davis, who Moore cites as one of his big influences. And the scope of variety can be seen on the rather flute-heavy New Agey “Rain Dance” and the almost mainstream jazz of “Herbie,” a tribute to pianist Herbie Hancock.

The CD, released on Moore’s Blue Canoe Records, has a $9 list price, and two songs, “Jamband Express” and “Groove Messenger (The Story of Jazztronica),” are available as free MP3 downloads from Moore’s web site and online vendors such as Amazon.com .

Moore has proven a solid player in a variety of settings since appearing on the recording scene in the mid 1990s, and this album ranks well among his releases. Fans wanting to hear him in this setting will likely be satisfied and new listeners of such music will find it worthwhile to at least investigate the free previews. Those wanting to hear his playing will find Alone Together a better and also intriguing bet, since the overdubbing includes unexpected sounds such as percussion generated by tapping on his bass.


Comments

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Acid Jazz
    Avant Garde
    Awards
    Bands
    Bass
    Bebop
    Big Band
    Brazilian Jazz
    Christmas | Holiday
    Classic Jazz
    Classic Soul
    Contemporary Jazz
    Cool Jazz
    Corporate News
    Crossover Jazz
    Drums
    Duo
    Easy Listening
    Electro Jazz
    Electronica
    Ethnic Jazz
    Funk
    Fusion
    Guitar
    Hip Hop
    Instrumental Rock
    Interview
    Jam Bands
    Jazz Pop
    Jazz Rock
    Latin Jazz
    Live
    Mainstream Jazz
    Memphis Soul
    New Age
    New Orleans
    Obituary
    Organ
    Pianists
    Post Bop
    Progressive Rock
    Quartet
    Quintet
    Rap
    Remix
    Sampler
    Saxophone
    Smooth Jazz
    Solo
    Soul Jazz
    Soundtrack
    Space Rock
    Store
    Traditional Jazz
    Trio
    Trombone
    Trumpet
    Vocals
    West Coast
    World Fusion

Blue Canoe Records on LinkedIn
Blue Canoe Records on Facebook
Blue Canoe Records on Twitter
Blue Canoe Records on Pinterest
Blue Canoe Records on YouTube
Blue Canoe Records on Instagram
HOME
RADIO
NEWS
ARTISTS
See A​ll Artists
Artist Of The Month
RELEASES
See All Releases
Song Of The Day
Album Of The Week
SOCIAL
Playlists
TV
STORE
BCR
About
Japanese Division
Licensing
Contact

Picture
© 2003-2023 Blue Canoe Records & Blue Canoe Digital LLC. 
Privacy Policy & Terms Of Use
​All Rights Reserved
  • Home
  • Radio
  • News
  • ARTISTS
    • See All Artists
    • Artist Of The Month
  • Releases
    • See All Releases
    • Song Of The Day
    • Album Of The Week
  • Store
  • BCR
    • About
    • Contact
    • Japanese Division
    • Licensing
  • Social
    • Playlists
    • TV