Bassically.net – May 2002

Bassically.net May 2002
Review by Cliff Engel

Drawing from a deep pool of jazz, funk, classical, and soul influences, Joseph Patrick Moore has delievered his third outing as a solo act with Alone Together. Moore’s latest project is comprised of eleven original compositions and four skillfully arranged covers from artists such as Bobby McFerrin and The Police.  As an electric/acoustic doubler, Moore has successfully combined the best of both bass worlds while utilizing only the sounds of electric fretted, fretless, and acoustic upright basses.  This effort finds Moore in solo, duo, and trio settings with perfectly orchestrated, multi-layered bass loops using both electric and acoustic basses can work together within the structure of a single piece of music in a completely coherent fashion. I can’t recall ever hearing this form of instrumentation being documented so well and convincingly. From tapping, slapping, harmonic, and chordal techniques on his electric basses to bowed, pizzicato, and walking chops on his upright bass, Moore proves he is more than totally proficient in each area. However, don’t let all of his dazzling technical displays distract you from the music and emotional content he is able to create as a result of his chops.

Bottom Line: With his previous two solo projects, Joseph Patrick Moore set the standard and firmly established himself as one of today’s up-and-coming premier bass artists. Now, with his dominating command of both acoustic and electric instruments on Alone Together, Moore has raised the bar yet again and demonstrated that he is one of the brightest electric/acoustic doublers on the scene today.