Bob Moses

Here's another round-up of the very latest sides to meet the líght of day. A few are artist-produced and -distributed and reflect the care and control that can be exercised when the executives are left chewing unlit cigars in their business offices. That's not to say that the other releases here are in any way inferior: ECM has come up with a couple of lively dates and Alligator Records continues to churn out a loving batch of the blues.

Bob Moses
Bittersuite in the Ozone (Mozown)

Bob Moses' album, Bittersuite in the Ozone, is a record so human, so goddam bloody real, thal you fully expect it to climb out of the jacket alone and lay down on the turntable for a ride. It is music that breathes, grunts, cries, sings and it makes categories arbitrary and insignificant. Though the players involved are known for their jazz affiliations, the musical appeal made here is universal.
The music of Bob Moses can only be defined by reference to itself: it is simply unlike anything else around us. Moses does admit his indebtedness to several important influences in the album's dedication: "For Duke, Mingus, Tatum, Rahsaan, EImo and Eric. Your music is timeless and eternal. I use it for learning and inspiration, not imitation." Pretty lofty language, but quite true. The Mingus stamp is particularly well imprinted: the arrangements are dark and gurgling, primal and deep like Mingus' own archetypal masterpiece, The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. The album, on Bob's self-owned "Mozown" label, is a stirring display of love and energy. He has surfaced on a few of the more unique albums in the last five years: Steve Marcus' "The Lord's Prayer" on which he does a rousing version of Dylan's "Tom Thumb's Blues" and also on Gary Burton's "Lofty Fake Anagram." "Ozone" finds hint in the company of a gaggle of familiar faces and voices: Eddie Gomez, Randy Brecker, Howard Johnson, David Liebman, Billy Hart and others.
All combine to create a music of tropical lushness and texture-from the African tribal echoes of "mfwala myo la la" to the humor and spunk of "message to the music business."
A full side is dedicated to the talents of pianist Stanley Free-a player of gigantic scope and feeling whose cyclopedic grasp of the jazz idiom is mindful of Jaki Byard's genius. No more could be said but that it would be criminal not to own this record. (Available from Mozown Records, 415 Central Park West, New York, NY 10025).