Rakalam Bob Moses is a drummer whose reputation as a top-drawer musician in the '70s has given way to his expertise as an instructor turning out excellent protégés at the New England Conservatory in Boston ever since. His fifth effort as a leader in the decade of the 2000s, he's recruited student performers and recording engineers, adding the veteran saxophonist and bass clarinetist Stan Strickland, and is inspired by his dad, who passed away shortly after these recording were made on Father's Day of 2006. The music is a dense Wall of Sound mostly devoid of strict time, free as in
John Coltrane's final phase music, and charged with youthful enthusiasm tempered with the wisdom of the ages. Five saxophonists provide the bricks and mortar, with violin and trumpet also included, to power the precise and urgent,
Elvin Jones like drumming of
Moses. Limited regard for defined melodies allows the music to breathe organically, best exemplified by three pieces titled "Exhalation" subtitled "Love," "Peace," and "Fire Breath." From meditational moods building in intensity to serene setting up a free bop section, to outspoken clarion horns filling every space,
Moses knows where the heart and pulse of this music lies, and delivers it full-force. There are direct references to music originally made by
Coltrane or
Pharoah Sanders as on the pretty ballad "Father's Day Celebration," the
Art Ensemble of Chicago,
Sun Ra,
Ornette Coleman,
Don Cherry, and
Cecil Taylor. "Our Life" adopts the brittle and free harmelodic approach of
Coleman going to a bash, while mbira and vocals, ritualistic and spooky, suggest the multi-kulti style
Cherry embraced in his latter period on "A Pure & Simple Being," with the large horn ensemble speaking and chatting in basic tones.
Moses takes to the piano in a frantic scramble during "Pollack Springs," rattling overtones keyboard strings while urging the shouting horns into madness. Though individualism is encouraged, the whole of the group is emphasized in the main, with Strickland's bass clarinet leading out introductions, while his tenor and soprano sax play semi-solos supported by the thick sonic landscape. Violinist Andrei Matorin seems to sound as a voice unintegrated while also adding a different spice to the mix, and is the lead voice on the foggy "Duet for Violin & Squeaky Door."
Moses himself is on track and in sync all the way, making inroads for his students to follow, and blazing away with the fiery and literate trap drum work that he has exemplified as assimilating bird's wings in flight. This will appeal to listeners of specific taste who enjoy creative, layered, impenetrable music, requiring deep listening and rapt attention. The gifts received upon your paying close attention reveal a unique music experience only
Moses can envision and bring. ~ Michael G. Nastos