Bob Moses  | |
|---|---|
![]()  | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Robert Laurence Moses | 
| Also known as | Ra-Kalam Bob Moses | 
| Born | January 28, 1948 New York City, U.S.  | 
| Genres | Jazz, avant-garde jazz | 
| Occupation(s) | Musician | 
| Instrument(s) | 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
 
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 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
 
.jpg.webp)