COOPER-MOORE - s/t

[diddley-bo] -- [horizontal hoe handle harp] -- [ashimba] -- [bamboo fife] -- [twanger] -- [piano] -- [storytelling] -- [mouth-bow] -- [three-stringed fretless banjo] -- [synth + percussion + vocal].As many 50MOER readers are aware, Cooper-Moore has been active on the creative music scene for over 30 years. -Ç Recordings and gigs with artists such as David S. Ware, William Parker, and Alan Braufman showcased his considerable skills as a pianist. -Ç While this is the source of his greatest notoriety amongst jazzbos, he has also simultaneously developed instruments of his own design and occasionally invention. -Ç Inclusion of some of these instruments with the large ensembles of William Parker, Bill Cole, and Butch Morris gave notice to the jazz world that piano was just one part of a much greater whole that is Cooper-Moores music. A whole lot of it comes together in Cooper-Moores solo performance, a remarkable display of multi-instrumental virtuosity and showmanship. -Ç He plays one beautiful handmade instrument after another in imaginative and exciting ways, all the while offhandedly bantering with the audience and offering tall tales that range from the disarmingly personal to the hilarious. -Ç The musical palette and emotional range of the work is quite broad, incorporating free improvisation, composed tunes, and the nether region in between. -Ç Inspired, the idea for this set was born. 50MOER #4 is five 7 vinyl records, a 16 page booklet with art, photos, + an extensive interview, housed in a custom-made cedar wood box (much the same as the recent "Goodbye Babylon" set) with a branded cover. -Ç This set is a hand-numbered edition of 300. -Ç I cant fathom repressing it. The music: youve got a diddley-bo lament, a mouthbow hymn, a high energy piano improvisation, an effects-laden banjo romp, the discombobulating sound of the twanger, and plenty more. -Ç Minus the story of Reverend Love on side 7 + the overdubbing on side 10, each side of each record features a solo performance on a different instrument. -Ç Among the recording locales were his East Harlem apartment, on a compost heap on Wards Island, on a footbridge, at a gig in Bordeaux, on his fire escape, and other places." - 50 Miles of Elbow Room. Counts as 4 items due to weight. Highly recommended!