Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Bob Moses: Love Animal

281

Bob Moses: Love Animal

By

Sign in to view read count
Bob Moses: Love Animal
Bob Moses recorded his debut album, Love Animal, in 1967-68 at the age of 19. But he never released it, he tells us in his informative and often amusing liner notes, "for reasons I don't remember." After all these years, the master drummer/percussionist has decided to unveil his earliest work as a leader on Amulet Records, which is run by Moses' disciple and kindred spirit Billy Martin (aka "illy B"). And so Love Animal takes its place alongside Moses' avant-garde epic Bittersuite in the Ozone as part of Amulet's Mozown Series, named for a label that Moses launched decades ago. (The Mozown Series also includes Moses' collaborations with Tisziji Muñoz [ Love Everlasting ] and Billy Martin [ Drummingbirds ].)

Love Animal is a fun but jarring study in contrasts, from out jazz to full-bore psychedelic rock and blues to solo percussion to standards. We hear a young Keith Jarrett, still in his Charles Lloyd period, playing beautifully on "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," guided by the hearty tenor sax of Jim Pepper. On "The Worms Crawl In Blues," the track immediately preceding the jazz ballad, we hear Larry Coryell cranked to eleven, wailing like a hybrid of Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page (and also weighing in with a throaty rock vocal). Steve Swallow plays acoustic and electric bass, except on "Rock Fantasy," a Coryell/Moses duet featuring the former on bass as well as overdubbed guitars.

The album begins with "Wholy Moses," a gritty piece of abstraction that arrives at a hard, medium swing tempo toward the end. Jarrett plays soprano sax on this track and on Michael Gibbs' rubato sketch "Nowhere," presaging the multi-instrumentalism he would soon explore with his American quartet. Moses drums alone, and astoundingly well, on the three-and-a-half-minute "Ntumba's Raindance," lays down the groove on the aptly titled "Slum Funk," and winds down with the corkscrew unison lines and out-swing of "Dancing Bears."

For the personnel alone, Love Animal is a fascinating piece of modern jazz history. While some tracks stand up better than others, the album captures a very particular pre-fusion moment and helps to fill out our understanding of the music's evolution.

Track Listing

1. Wholy Moses (Moses) - 4:12 2. The Worms Crawl in Blues (Coryell) - 6:58 3. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (Harbach/Kern) - 6:51 4. Ntumba's Raindance (Moses) - 3:35 5. Rock Fantasy (Coryell/Moses) - 6:56 6. Nowhere (Gibbs) - 3:32 7. Slum Funk (Moses) - 4:34 8. Dancing Bears (Moses) - 4:06

Personnel

Bob Moses
drums

Larry Coryell - bass, guitar, vocals; Keith Jarrett - electric piano; Bob Moses - drums; Jim Pepper - tenor sax; Steve Swallow - electric and acoustic bass.

Album information

Title: Love Animal | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Amulet

Comments

Tags

Concerts


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Sensual
Rachel Z
Over and Over
Tony Monaco Trio
Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.