Q. What inspired you to first pick up the bass and what were your first attempts at playing it like?
A. My bass playing career started from a dream (seriously). I kept having a recurring dream that I should sell my alto saxophone/drum kit and buy an electric bass guitar. After many nights of having this same dream, I felt like I had no choice. Needless to say my first attempts at playing it was exciting yet embarrassing. Thankfully I found a great teacher and learned how to play with a proper foundation and hand position before I developed bad habits. Q. Did you take lessons or are you self-taught? A. I took lessons from Rusty Holloway in Knoxville, TN. Rusty is a monster player and a very talented man. He not only taught me the fundamentals of the electric bass, he also encouraged me to get a double bass and enroll in the University of Tennessee liberal arts music program. Rusty Holloway was very instrumental in steering me in the right direction(s). Q. Who inspired you to learn the bass? A. I started playing the bass in 1986 and was quickly influenced by the radio and mtv. At the time, I was also really into The Police as well as many heavy metal “hair bands”. In 1989 when I started college, I started focusing more on jazz artists like Charlie Parker and Miles Davis as well as their respective side musicians/careers. Q. What is your practice regimen like? A. My practice regimen varies a lot and is often in flux about every three months. Typically I work on transcribing, listening and composing. Currently, I’m trying to develop and work solely on my right hand thumb technique. Q. How would you define your style of playing? A. I’m influenced by so many different types of music and styles that its hard to pinpoint. Overall, I would say Contemporary Jazz. It’s not traditional in the straight ahead jazz style (however I can play this way) and it’s not totally smooth jazz either. It’s really more in the middle, hence the word Contemporary. Q. Lets talk about your creative process. How do you approach writing an original song – do you compose from the bass or do you use a piano? A. A little of both. When an idea is born, it comes out regardless of the instrument. The idea transcends the instrument. However that being said, their are certain nuances, techniques and style characteristics that lend themselves to their respective instrument and this can obviously influence and transform the original idea. Q. What challenges do you face when switching from different styles of music? A. For me, the more appropriate question is how I switch from double bass, electric bass and fretless bass within the musical context. This could take a while to explain so let me just say that the biggest challenge or my deepest desire is to just serve the music, regardless of the style. Q. What other types of music or artists do you derive inspiration from? A. I love good music and I’m influenced by so many things that I discover, particularly from the world wide web. There are just simply too many artists to mention here, but let me say that lately I’ve been checking out Pop/Electronica artist, Imogen Heap. I find her sense of songwriting, creativity and music very refreshing. Q. What is the most important bit of advice you were given by another musician? A. Lay back and groove, don’t try so hard. Let the music play itself. Q. In regards to your latest release, “Decade 1996-2005″ – what can you tell us about this recording? A. We selected tunes from my five previous CD releases and we re-mixed, re-mastered and in some cases edited the beginnings and endings of songs in order to allow for more material to be included on the CD. “Decade 1996-2005″ is 74 minutes long and there are 19 songs on this compilation. In addition, I wrote the title track “Decade” and played all the instruments. Q. What equipment do you use live and in the studio and why? A. I play Pedulla electric/fretless basses and a Kohler upright double bass for both live and studio projects. In the studio, I tend to go direct through a Brent Avril 2 channel 1272 preamp and for live situations I use a Walter Woods preamp with Bergantino cabinets. For a complete list of my current gear, you can find that on my website at: Gear Q. What one piece of equipment would you advise all bassists to own? A. A drum machine or drum sampler of some kind. In my opinion the drum machine can serve the same function as the metronome, but it goes further in developing different rhythmical aspects and styles. Q. What is been your proudest playing moment? A. I can’t think of a single instance right now. However, let me just say that if the music is swinging and the cats are listening, there’s nothing better. Q. What is the biggest disaster you’ve ever had onstage, and how did you cope with it? A. I was playing a show with BlueGround UnderGrass in Minnesota and one of my neck through Pedulla basses fell off the stand and shattered into a million pieces. I heard this horrible sound and turned around and saw that my bass was demolished. It was like starring at a dead body. Needless to say, I didn’t handle the situation very well. Q. Do you warm up before a concert and if so how? A. If I have time, absolutely! I’ll usually play finger permutations or the chromatic scale in order to get the blood flowing and my mind concentrating on the fundamentals of the instrument. Q. What is the most important bit of advice you could give to new bassists? A. “Serve the Music”. Regardless of your style or situation, put your ego on the shelf and play what the music dictates. Q. Thanks for your time and consideration for this article and interview. Any last thoughts for our readers? A. My last thought of the day: Find a cause greater than yourself and ask, how may I serve? Blue Canoe Digital releases a co-authored ebook by JPM and Platinum music producer/Curtis Mafield alumni, Buzz Amato. This ebook is designed for all musical artists, bands, composers, arrangers, engineers and producers regardless of skill or current level of success. With over 100 pages of advice, tips, links and proven methods to help one succeed in achieving an overall balance between art and business.
Check it out today. “In this interview, Moore talks about his new recordings as a solo artist and a member of E.M.P. Project, Blue Canoe Records, doing remote sessions via the web, teaching online through MusicDojo, and the benefits of playing both electric and acoustic upright basses. Whether recording as a solo artist, performing as a member of E.M.P. Project, or touring as a sideman, Joseph Patrick Moore has demonstrated the diversity of his musical prowess across a broad spectrum of musical genres while utilizing acoustic upright, electric, and fretless basses.”
– Cliff Engel Read Interview Bassist Joseph Patrick Moore’s latest album Live in 05 is a fun and spirited jazz-fusion collection of songs recorded at This House Rocks in Atlanta, Georgia on April 2nd, 2005. Moore has been busy over the last few years, putting out a few albums of his own as well as appearing on various other artist’s recordings. Here, he and his crack band of Al Smith on keyboards, drummer Jon Chalden, EWI player Al Mcspadden, and percussionist Emrah Kotan really give a five performance on eleven tracks of smokin’ and funky fusion, melodic cool jazz, and progressive tinged improvisations. Moore himself is a very smooth player with some serious chops, whether he is laying down deep grooves or lean melodic solos on electric, fretless, or double bass. Fans of Victor Bailey, Gary Willis, John Pattitucci, Stanley Clarke, and Marcus Miller, will instantly dig Moore’s energetic style. Although there are plenty of great bass solos on the album, the live setting affords his bandmates to also get in on the action, especially keyboard player Smith, who launches into a wild synth frenzy on the funky “Gypsy Moon Father Sun”. He also provides a nice melodic foundation in which Moore can dig into some serious popping bass lines on the light jazz piece “Fall”. Drummers will love the percussion/drum spotlight “Drum Dance”, which allows Chalden and Kotan some room to show off before the song segues into the fine “Datz It (version 2005)”, a song with plenty of funk bass melodies and 70’s styled electric piano. Ultimately it comes down to compositions, and Moore is no slouch in that department. These are all memorable tunes with catchy melodies, which go along just fine with the solid chops of the band. So if you in the mood for some well played and melodic modern jazz fusion, you can’t go wrong with Live in 05. Track Listing 1. SoulCloud 2. Mystery 3. Prayer of Solitude 4. Chief Dagga 5. Gypsy Moon Father Sun 6. Bless You 7. Fall 8. Bebop Charlie 9. What? 10. Drum Dance 11. Datz It (version 2005) Added: January 18th 2006 Reviewer: Pete Pardo Score: 4 out 5 stars. Reviewer: Lynda Dale MacLean Reviewer’s Rating: 8 Added: 24-Dec-2005 Joseph Patrick Moore is an accomplished bassist and composer and “Live in 05” recorded at “This House Rocks” in Atlanta, GA is a sensational Jazz album. I love the bass and percussion and felt the album, as a whole, had such a distinctive voice. “SoulCloud” and “Mystery” have such a cool vibe going on. “Prayer of Solitude” darn this track was way too short; it was so awesome! “Datz It” (version 2005) ended the CD in style. “Live in 05” by Joseph Patrick Moore is a fine Jazz album that I really connected with. BassGuitar Magazine (UK) November 2004 Review by Andy Long for ThirdBass. Commisioned by Bass Guitar Magazine. Bass Guitar Magazine Issue 14 A surprisingly mellow version of Men At Work’s ‘Down Under‘ opens this latest project from Atlanta based session man Moore. It’s an colourful album that takes a tour around some of his influences, for instance the opening track is followed by a jazz arrangement of ‘Ghost Town’ by The Specials and the songs of Tony Williams, Phish and The Fixx are also to be found. His own compositions are a cocktail of funk, jazz and soul shaken and stirred by a multitude of musicians. ‘Jamband Express‘ has a solid blues/funk feel with an irresistible groove and his tribute to Herbie Hancock, ‘Herbie‘ is a showcase for some outstanding soloing, Adam Nitti pops up on this track as an added bonus. Moore was recently named as one of the 100 greatest jazz bassist by Digital Dream Door and this album is the lastest testament to that achievement. JPM appears in the December issue of Basics Magazine (issue #37/Nathan East). The song “Herbie” from JPM’s Drum and Bass Society Volume 1 CD is featured on the CD sampler that is included with every issue, as well as commentary and a transcription from Joseph about the recording of this tune. “Herbie” also features a guest appearance by bass wizard Adam Nitti. Added JPM Interviews:
from BasGitarist.com (Turkish Bass Site) from PlanetBass.com (UK bass site) Added JPM Review: from Bass Guitar Magazine (UK Publication) |
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