Creative Loafing – April 2004

Creative Loafing April 2004

Creative Loafing-vibes-sit and spin
Charlotte, NC March 2004
Review by Samir Shukla
Creative Loafing Site (Charlotte, NC)

Joseph Patrick Moore has served as a member of Col. Bruce Hampton‘s Fiji Mariners and Blueground Undergrass. The bassist and multi-insrumentalist, currently based in Atlanta, produces solo records and also appears on a numerous projects as a sideman. Moore has a knack for bringing disparate musicians together into a collective that somehow manages to click. In VOLUME 1, the guest coax Moore’s seven original compositions into uptempo pop, contemporary jazz, and world fusion. There is also exotica in RAINDANCE, funk with CHEESEFROG FUNK, and groove-rock hints in HEAVY THINGS.  Sure, there are tracks that would be home in a lounge somewhere, lurkin in obscurity, but most of the record works quite well. The engaging takes on several covers include The Fixx’s ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER, where George and Caroline Pond from Snake Oil Medicine Show add their own obtuse dimension. The Specials GHOST TOWN gets a jazzy treatment and covers of Phish, Men at Work and Tony Williams also get refurbished. Moore’s bass lines are supple, funky and don’t overwhelm the rest of the crew playing slide guitars, violin, horns, woodwinds and mandolin. His bass expecially shines in a dedication to Herbie Hancock simply entitled HERBIE. 

Track to burn: GHOST TOWN 
Grade: B

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