Moondog [CBS]

• Artist: Moondog
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1969
• Total Time: 30:19
• Genre: Avant-Garde

Review

Moondog's second self-titled album (the first one came out in 1956 on the independent jazz label Prestige) was the idiosyncratic composer's first release in 12 years, and it shows how much Moondog's already rich music had matured since 1957's The Story of Moondog. Where Moondog's '50s records were jazz-based, Moondog showcases the composer's orchestral side; producer James William Guercio assembled an orchestra of over 40 musicians from the classical and jazz worlds (including flutist Hubert Laws and bassist Ron Carter), and although the pieces are quite compact -- ranging from the expansive three-part ballet suite "Witch of Endor" to the eight-second spoken poem "Cuplet" -- Moondog uses the expanded range of tonal colors and dynamics impressively. For someone who spent most of his career performing solo on a street corner in Manhattan, Moondog's arrangements on pieces like the jazz-canon's "Stamping Ground" are not only admirably complex, but also richly melodic. Although Moondog is often thought of as a mere exotica novelty, thanks to the composer's eccentricities, it is, in fact, one of the finest third stream jazz albums of its era. The best-known track on this album, "Bird's Lament," was the uncredited basis for dance DJ Mr. Scruff's "Get a Move On," which was used in an extended series of minivan commercials in 2002. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Theme	Louis Hardin	Moondog (Louis Thomas Hardin)	(2:35)
Stamping Ground	Louis Hardin	Moondog (Louis Thomas Hardin)	(2:36)
Symphonique #3		Moondog (Louis Thomas Hardin)	(5:51)
Symphonique #6		Moondog (Louis Thomas Hardin)	(2:45)
Minisym #1		Moondog (Louis Thomas Hardin)	(5:45)
Lament I		Moondog (Louis Thomas Hardin)	(1:42)
Witch of Endor		Moondog (Louis Thomas Hardin)	(6:29)
Symphonique #1		Moondog (Louis Thomas Hardin)	(2:36)

Credits

Moondog (Louis Thomas Hardin) (Percussion), Jack Jennings (Percussion), Ernie Bright (Clarinet (Bass)), Paul Faulise (Trombone), George Berg (Bassoon), Danny Repole (Trumpet), Wally Kane (Bassoon), Alan Dean (Trumpet), James William Guercio (Producer), Louis Hardin (Bass), Phil Giardina (Tuba), Don Macourt (Bassoon), Don Butterfield (Tuba), Buddy Morrow (Trombone), Henry Schuman (Horn (English)), Wally Kane (Sax (Baritone)), Moondog (Louis Thomas Hardin) (Vocals), Fred Plaut (Engineer), John Swallow (Tuba), Moondog (Louis Thomas Hardin) (Keyboards), Rieko Nakagawa (Bassoon), George Silfies (Clarinet), Andrew Lolya (Flute), Aaron Rosand (Violin), Teddy Weiss (Trumpet), Harold Jones (Piccolo), Hubert Laws (Piccolo), Charles Small (Trombone), Joe Wilder (Trumpet), Irving Horowitz (Horn (English)), Dave Carey (Percussion), Eugene Becker (Viola), Melvin Broiles (Trumpet), Jimmy Abato (Clarinet), Ray Alonge (French Horn), Bill Stanley (Tuba), Bobby Rosengarden (Percussion), Joynce Kelly (Bassoon), Charles McCracken (Cello), Arthur Kendy (Engineer), Harold Bennett (Flute), Alfred Brown (Bass), Richard Berg (French Horn), Phil Bodner (Clarinet), Tony Studd (Trombone), Moondog (Louis Thomas Hardin) (Harmonica), Joe Wilder (Flugelhorn), Joe Tekula (?), Jack Knitzer (Bassoon), James Buffington (French Horn), George Ricci (Cello), Ron Carter (Bass), Elayne Jones (Percussion), Bill Elton (Tuba), Emanuel Vardi (Viola), Raoul Poliakin (Viola), Brooks Tillotson (French Horn), George Duvivier (Bass), David Schwartz (Viola), Paul Gershman (Violin)