Bassically.net – October 2000

Bassically.net, October 2000
Review by Cliff Engel

Joseph Patrick Moore, former Col. Bruce Hampton bassist, released SOULCLOUD, his second solo instrumental jazz cd on October 10, 2000. Soulcloud is the follow-up effort to Moore’s 1996 independently released debut, NEVER NEVER LAND. As a freelance bassist, Moore has displayed the diversity of his musical talents in a wide array of musical genres including various form of jazz, rock, and blues music to name just a few. On SoulCloud Moore continues to demonstrate his versatility in a number of group settings including solo, duo, trio, and full blown ensemble settings. Moore, a multi-instrumentalist, switches seemingly effortlessly between fretted and fretless electric and upright basses.

Right from its onset you’ll notice that SoulCloud is an extremely well produced offering featuring Moore’s bass talents well in front of the mix (the way recordings ought to be). On a number of the tunes I detected the funky vibes of the Col. Bruce Hampton sound which I’m certain Moore picked up during the time he spent as a member of Hampton’s own Fiji Mariners and Planet Zambee ensembles. For those of you not familiar with the Col., it was he that helped launch the career of the now renowned bass artist, Oteil Burbridge. Also those of you well-versed with the Hampton library should immediately recognize the sounds of another Hampton sideman, guitarist Jimmy Herring, who appears as one of the many featured guest performers on SoulCloud.

Moore opens SoulCloud with a tight horn arrangement on DATZ IT (my favorite piece) and reveals his impeccable technique on acoustic and electric basses. Moore then presents us with the first of five original compositions with the fretless sounds of ASHES TO ASHES. Besides the phat funk grooves which Moore proves he can undoubtedly handle with ease, Moore takes center stage for a brief moment to exhibit his tasty solo slap chops on BIG BUTT BASS (very impressive indeed) before neatly sequeing into the album’s title track. Moore shifts to a trio format of electric bass, drums and sitar on PAUSE #3, an interesting piece dedicated to the late great Tony Williams.  Next Moore offers you the listener the funky sounds of the very hip MUMPHIS COSANOSTRA. Then Moore continues to expand upon his deep-in-the-pocket bassmanship within the soulful sounds of COSMIC DANCE, another Moore original composition. Finally, Moore rounds out SoulCloud with two cover tunes, Led Zeppelin’s GOING TO CALIFORNIA is a brilliant duo arrrangement featuring the unlikely combination of electric bass and soprano saxophone. However, this is primarily a solo bass arrangement consisting of arpeggiated melodic, harmonic, and chordal content. I like how Moore tints the color of this piece with the short sax section that gracefully weaves in and out of the bass content. Moore then presents the listener with a jazzed up version of DUST IN THE WIND that highlights Moore’s upright skills during the outro solo. For those of you that discover the disc’s hidden track, you’ll hear the eerie harmonic-laden sound of ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER TIME. A solo bass piece recorded on a rainy afternoon in Memphis, Tennessee back in 1994.

Bottom Line: If you have never heard the talent of Joseph Patrick Moore, it is just a matter of time before you will.

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