Nude Bass Ascending...

Album review

Glen Moore is one of the most virtuoso bassists in jazz, though his interest in music is open to influences from around the world. These mid-'90s sessions mix duets with oud player Rabih Abou-Khali and a quartet with Carla Bley (on organ), electric bassist Steve Swallow, and percussionist Arto Tuncboyaciayn. The intricate duets with Abou-Khali are mostly excerpted from longer free improvisations; each piece has a unique character due to the free-flowing ideas between the two musicians. In the quartet selections, Bley's technique on the organ is reserved, not using much volume at all. Swallow, long one of the best electric bassists around, offers sparse supportive lines that fit in beautifully. Tuncboyaciayn overdubs multiple vocals over his percussion in the African-flavored "It Takes a Village" to good effect. Throughout the sessions, Moore seems to squeeze every possibility out of his centuries-old instrument, incorporating squeals and percussive effects, in addition to his superb technique whether playing arco or pizzicato. Nude Bass Ascending will definitely appeal to jazz listeners with a sense of adventure.

© Ken Dryden /TiVo