FBPO Review
To Africa With Love
Joseph Patrick Moore
Audio CD
Something about Africa touched Joseph Patrick Moore so deeply and profoundly that he felt compelled to pay tribute to the continent. The result is a beautifully produced collection of songs, aptly titled, To Africa With Love.
At the very onset of the album, Moore hits the listener right between the eyes with a fast, technically intricate wake-up call on the bass, serving as an intro to “Fire On the Bayou,” an uptempo feel-good tune, featuring Charlie Wood on vocals. As is the case with all the tunes, “Bayou” is heavy on percussion and electronics, tastefully done.
In addition to the laudable compositions and arrangements, Moore’s bass playing is featured prominently throughout the album, often carrying the melody. Joseph demonstrates beautiful fretless work in “Acacia Tree” and offers strong upright bass solos on “Bumpy Ride” and Horace Silver’s “Señor Blues.” Also notable are his double-stop riffs in “Bass Song,” his overdubs in “Resolution” and his busy bass groove and melodic playing in “Ubuntu,” which includes hints of Sly & the Family Stone, Jaco and a rap song, simultaneously.
In addition to Charlie Wood, Joseph prominently features three other vocalists on the album, each one capturing the spirit of the respective compositions. Seth Condrey sings “To Africa With Love,” an uplifting song of hope and encouragement. Chinua Hawk takes the lead on “Eyerusalem,” a quasi reggae/shuffle beat, with Joseph doubling the vocal line on the bass. Abbes Bouzefrane sings “What Could Have Been,” perhaps the most African-sounding tune on the album, featuring heavy African-flavored percussion and Moore’s lyrical bass playing. Credit is also given to Abbes Guendouz, vocal coach, presumably as part of Joseph’s quest for true and total authenticity (I’m not sure why authentically African singers need a vocal coach, but the end result is, well…authentic!).
The selections on the album, nearly all of which were written or co-written by Moore, flow logically and thematically, capturing, as he puts it, “my present musical and spiritual state.” The outcome is a CD that’s varied, yet cohesive, well-written and produced with an underlying message that comes through loud and clear. Says Joseph, “With To Africa With Love, I feel like I’m getting closer to ‘who’ and ‘what’ I am. While I’m not afraid to take chances, experiment or try new ideas, I feel as though I’m much closer to having an artistic direction and voice with this recording.” If those are his criteria, we’d say he succeeded.
Review by Jon Liebman
To Africa With Love is available in the FBPO store.
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To Africa With Love |
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