Showing posts with label Columbus Chip Baker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Columbus Chip Baker. Show all posts

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Master drummer Ra-Kalam Bob Moses to hold master class


Among the four members of the legendary, pioneering jazz-fusion band The Free Spirits coming to Portland in August to celebrate their friend and bandmate Jim Pepper is world-renowned master drummer and educator Rakalam Bob Moses.

“Drummer, composer, artist, poet, dancer, visionary, nature mystic (Rakalam) Bob Moses's life has been a continuous quest for vision, spirit, compassion, growth, and mastery in a multiplicity of art forms.”—New England Conservatory

Bob will arrive in Portland in time to conduct a master class in doing what he does (time and place and other details TBA) before taking the stage Friday and Saturday evenings August 9 & 10 for the historic reunion concert of The Free Spirits. And then he’s off to tour Australia and New Zealand.

This will give you a sense of what you don’t want to miss:




Photo by Andrew Hurlbut



“I can see two major traditions or trains of thought colliding and merging in my music.

“One is the path of the nature visionary; one who can travel without moving, to and through various dimensions and planes of reality. In my life I have seen through the veils, kissed butterflies, envisioned animated three-dimensional scenes and stepped into those scenes, talked to and played with spirits of other worlds, past, present and future. I have been a flower, a mountain, a raging river, a stone….

“The other tradition or stream that I swim in is the Great River of African Music in all its manifestations: the importance of clave’, groove, swing, rhythm, dance, hip-shaking, rhythm and rhyme sublime, shadows and light by day, by night, Jazz, Funk, Rhythm and Blues, Hip Hop, Rap, Reggae, Calypso, Zouk, Soukous, Samba, Afro-Cuban, Salsa are all psychically if not geographically emanating from Africa….

“So the streams merge and become one vast, deep, infinite music:

“Music with groove but no walls
Music with soul but no boundaries
Music with roots but no ceilings
Music of hope and love and humor”
                                  --Rakalam Bob Moses, from When Elephants Dream of Music


–on Bob Moses’ When Elephants Dream of Music:


"Bob Moses has now emerged as the possessor of one of the grander imaginations in America's true classical music. No orchestral composer of this scope, mellow wit, and freshly distinctive range of colors has come along since Gil Evans."-Nat Hentoff, Modern Recording and Music

“Bob Moses, composer, drummer, poet, artist, conceptualizer, inspirer of people, has created a musical environment that is balanced between discipline and freedom, compositional design and spontaneous inspiration. A party with a purpose. This album is original, soulful, funny…and very special. I hope a lot of people get as much enjoyment from it as I have”. –Gil Evans

–on On Time Stood Still

"Leave it to Moses, a multi-directional shamanistic groovilator, to put all the pieces together. On Time Stood Still, another sprawling production of DeMille-ian scale, he seamlessly blends Monk, funk, tap, hip hop, bebop, big band, blues, Bahia, Tanzania, and the avant garde into one organic package while paying homage to the spirits of Gil Evans, Charles Mingus, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Jaco Pastorius."-Bill Milkowski, Down Beat







Friday, May 24, 2013

I'm Gonna Be Free - Rare Jim Pepper - The Free Spirits Live - on KBOO 90.7FM



Tune into KBOO 90.7FM this Saturday May 25 2:00-3:30pm PST for an hour and a half of rare Jim Pepper audio tracks, Jim PepperFest 2013 updates and more on The Motif’s show.




The Free Spirits

We will start the show with tracks from the recently-released cd The Free Spirits Live at The Scene, NYC, 1967…. Pioneering jazz/rock mayhem…I’m Gonna Be Free, for the rest of my days….

What Larry Coryell, Rakalam Bob Moses, Chris Hills, Columbus Chip Baker and the late Jim Pepper were up to on February 22, 1967….

And what we are planning for August 7-10, 2013 at the Parkrose HS Performing Arts Center in Portland, Oregon…. Mark your calendars….


The Motif: Re-Imagine a Jazz Sensibility
Post modern representations of improvisation, across dramatic modes, and re-imagined spaces of diverse music genre, hosted by The Motif, aka Yugen Kelsaw.

Sunday, May 05, 2013

Rakalam Bob Moses -- When Elephants Dream of Music


On Rakalam Bob Moses of The Free Spirits
By Sean Aaron Cruz

Portland, Oregon—

“Drummer, composer, artist, poet, dancer, visionary, nature mystic (Rakalam) Bob Moses's life has been a continuous quest for vision, spirit, compassion, growth, and mastery in a multiplicity of art forms.”—New England Conservatory

Among the four members of the legendary, pioneering jazz-fusion band The Free Spirits coming to Portland in August to celebrate their friend and bandmate Jim Pepper is world-renowned master drummer and educator Rakalam Bob Moses.


Photo by Andrew Hurlbut


Born in New York City, Bob Moses began his career as a teenager performing with the great Rahsaan Roland Kirk. In 1965, Bob Moses, guitarist Larry Coryell, bassist Chris Hills, guitarist Columbus Chip Baker and Jim Pepper formed The Free Spirits.

The Free Spirits jazz-rocked New York City in 1965-67, releasing just one LP, Out of Sight and Sound, before parting, each taking his own path, and now more than four decades later reuniting in the neighborhood where Jim Pepper first picked up his saxophone.

Jim PepperFest 2013: Rise of the Free Spirits
The Jim Pepper Native Arts Festival
Parkrose HS Performing Arts Center, Portland, Oregon
August 7-10, 2013


“I can see two major traditions or trains of thought colliding and merging in my music.

“One is the path of the nature visionary; one who can travel without moving, to and through various dimensions and planes of reality. In my life I have seen through the veils, kissed butterflies, envisioned animated three-dimensional scenes and stepped into those scenes, talked to and played with spirits of other worlds, past, present and future. I have been a flower, a mountain, a raging river, a stone….

“The other tradition or stream that I swim in is the Great River of African Music in all its manifestations: the importance of clave’, groove, swing, rhythm, dance, hip-shaking, rhythm and rhyme sublime, shadows and light by day, by night, Jazz, Funk, Rhythm and Blues, Hip Hop, Rap, Reggae, Calypso, Zouk, Soukous, Samba, Afro-Cuban, Salsa are all psychically if not geographically emanating from Africa….

“So the streams merge and become one vast, deep, infinite music:

“Music with groove but no walls
Music with soul but no boundaries
Music with roots but no ceilings
Music of hope and love and humor”

                                  --Rakalam Bob Moses, from When Elephants Dream of Music


Trevor, from When Elephants Dream of Music




–on Bob Moses’ When Elephants Dream of Music:


"Bob Moses has now emerged as the possessor of one of the grander imaginations in America's true classical music. No orchestral composer of this scope, mellow wit, and freshly distinctive range of colors has come along since Gil Evans."-Nat Hentoff, Modern Recording and Music

“Bob Moses, composer, drummer, poet, artist, conceptualizer, inspirer of people, has created a musical environment that is balanced, between discipline and freedom, compositional design and spontaneous inspiration. A party with a purpose. This album is original, soulful, funny…and very special. I hope a lot of people get as much enjoyment from it as I have”. –Gil Evans

–on On Time Stood Still


"Leave it to Moses, a multi-directional shamanistic groovilator, to put all the pieces together. On Time Stood Still, another sprawling production of DeMille-ian scale. He seamlessly blends Monk, funk, tap, hip hop, bebop, big band, blues, Bahia, Tanzania, and the avant garde into one organic package while paying homage to the spirits of Gil Evans, Charles Mingus, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Jaco Pastorius."-Bill Milkowski, Down Beat

~~~~~~~~~

This article was written while the author was listening to and under the influence of When Elephants Dream of Music.

The Jim Pepper Native Arts Festival is a project of the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission and its partners:

The Regional Arts & Culture Council
Parkrose Neighborhood Association
Parkrose School District
Russellville Grange
Travel Portland
KBOO 90.7 FM Community Radio





Save the dates: The Jim Pepper Native Arts Festival Aug 7-10, 2013



Save the dates:

Jim PepperFest 2013: Rise of the Free Spirits
The Jim Pepper Native Arts Festival
Parkrose HS Performing Arts Center, Portland, Oregon
August 7-10, 2013
A project of the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission and its partners



Monday, April 01, 2013

RACC Opportunity Grant kicks off Jim PepperFest 2013 fundraising


The Regional Arts & Culture Commission (RACC) has awarded a $10,000 Opportunity Grant to the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission (OCHC) in support of Jim PepperFest 2013: The Jim Pepper Native Arts Festival.

A message from OCHC President David Milholland just arrived, announcing:

“Today we opened a letter that stated: “Congratulations! It is my pleasure to inform you that the Regional Arts & Culture Council is awarding funds for your Special Opportunity Grant proposal. Your award amount for this cycle in 2012-13 is $10,000 based on the review panel scoring as approved by the RACC Board of Directors.” These are the first funds formally committed for our Jim Pepper Native Arts Festival this August 7-10 at Parkrose High School, an exciting project led by Sean Aaron Cruz.

“More news in the near future on this groundbreaking cultural event.

“Please visit our website – www.ochcom.org/events.html – which details six April, 2013 events in celebration of OCHC’s 25th birthday this spring. All are free and each reflects our longstanding Mission Statement:

The Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission discovers,
celebrates, and commemorates contributions to
Oregon’s diverse literary and cultural legacy,
raising awareness through publications and
other media, memorials, and public events.

“May your own spring be fruitful. Thanks for your support and interest these many years.”
            Cordially, David Milholland – OCHC President




The Regional Arts and Culture Council serves Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties.

RACC Vision, Mission and Core Values statements:

Vision
To enrich community life by working with partners to create an environment in which the arts and culture of the region flourish and prosper.

Mission
Through vision, leadership and service the Regional Arts & Culture Council works to integrate arts and culture in all aspects of community life.

Core Values
We value freedom of artistic and cultural expression as a fundamental human right.
We value a diversity of artistic and cultural experiences.
We value a community in which everyone can participate in arts and culture.
We value a community that celebrates and supports its artists, and its arts and cultural organizations.
We value arts and culture as key elements in creating desirable places to live, work and visit