Joseph Patrick Moore – Decade 1996-2005

Reviewed by Kai Horsthemke

 

‘Decade’ is a ten-year retrospective on the bassist’s recorded output that spans five albums and features Joseph Patrick Moore on fretted, fretless and upright basses. As one might expect, given the scope of the project, there are several styles and musical moods contained on this compilation that – fittingly – kicks off with a new tune:

Decade has a Steely Dan-type groove and features JPM on a variety of basses, finger-funk melody and tiny fretless inserts.

In An Instant is a piano-led ballad/ Latin number, also featuring guitar, a composition by pianist Alvie Givhan that has Moore in an exclusively anchoring role.

Groovemessengers (The Story of Jazztronica) is a nifty bit of acid jazz that Moore underscores on upright, adding brief melodic statements, in between flurries of keys and muted trumpet.

Datz It has all the funk the title promises, with JPM taking the initial melody. This is also a feature for guitar (Jazz Is Dead and Phil Lesh stalwart Jimmy Herring sizzles here) and some juicy organ and sax stabs.

Down Under, a cover of the Men At Work favourite, features folksy flute and Temple Passmore’s voice, as well as some impressive drumming – but on the whole, to my ears at least, it fails to add any new dimensions to the tune.

Mystery is a burning live number, a fretless feature that also showcases some hyperactive keys, presumably courtesy of Buzz Amato.

Soulcloud, too, is a live recording, a slower but nonetheless percolating piece that, unfortunately, ends a little inconclusively.

Brave Up is a more traditionally jazzy tune, both in terms of instrumentation, bass, drums, piano/ keys, sax – Jim Spake – and trumpet – Scott Thompson) and execution.

Masoko Tanga is an intriguing cover of the Police composition that really works as a (subtle) bass feature.

Chief Dagga is a live, tasteful slap/ pop tune, with swirling keys (synth, electric piano) and intriguing shifts in time signature.

Herbie, by the sound of it, is a funky tribute to Mr. Hancock rather than the famous VW beetle, showcasing Adam Nitti on electric bass, JPM on upright, and some neat electronica more than halfway into the piece.

Ashes to Ashes has a Pastorian grove and is, indeed, a tribute to both Jaco and Charles Mingus, with convincing sax, piano (Bill Anschwell) and guitar breaks (Jimmy Herring).

Fall is another track from the album ‘Live in ‘05’, a gentle funk/ Latin number with happening synth, deep pulsating bass plus a convincing finger-funk solo.

Jamband Express is, indeed, that: a moving, grooving, bass-anchored jam band journey, 12 bars and beyond, that also features trumpet, flute and drummer Jeff Sipe.

Waterfalls has cascades of electric bass notes and arcoed upright taking the melody: one of my favourite pieces here.

Gypsy Moon Father Sun, too, is from the 2005 live set, a slow bit of funk that features muted trumpet, keys and deep-grooving drums.

Rain Dance is a Native American type of tune that introduces Larry Blewitt on percussion, Kenneth Lovell on wooden flute and JPM on harmonic-driven electric bass.

Pause # 1 is a brief dedication to Miles: Moore is featured on Marcus-style deep-funky bass, with some wicked sampling and Scott Thompson on Milesish horn.

The last tune, Qui es-tu Marie Jeanne?, is a gorgeous ballad, my other favourite track here, with JPM on both electric and arco/ pizzicato upright basses.

‘Decade’, then, offers a wide-ranging mélange of musical styles and vocabularies, with something to appeal to even the most fastidious of tastes, a great introduction to what Joseph Patrick Moore has been up to until now.