David Moss - My Favorite Things (1990)

Tracklist

01. Dance On
02. Ghosts
03. Keemanay
04. Stolen
05. For JB
06. Round Midnight
07. Chebbah
08. Die Kunst der Fuge
09. In a Silent Way
10. Slow Talking
11. Delilah
12. The Girl from Ipanema
13. My Favorite Things
14. Poder de Criação
15. About 3 Little Fishes
16. That Tempest

Avant-garde percussionist and vocalist David Moss puts his vocal antics front and center on this ten-years-after follow-up to his debut solo session, Terrains. Moss pays tribute in his own inimitable and bizarre way to the music that has touched him. Influences range from free jazz pioneer Albert Ayler to pop crooner Tom Jones, from African Cheb Khaled to J.S. Bach. Regardless of the material, it all gets run through Moss' improvisational blender. Courtesy of overdubbing, Moss sounds like he's possessed with multiple personalities, and each personality seems to be suffering from Tourette's syndrome. Voices pop in and out of the mix, squawking and wheezing, sometimes squeaky, sometimes stentorian. The result is often, as on Delilah or For JB, his nod to James Brown, a kind of rambunctious musical cartoon. A few tracks are more restrained. Stolen showcases his innovative use of steel drum, which he meshes seamlessly with his voice. His set drumming comes to the fore on In a Silent Way and My Favorite Things. The striking choral version of samba Poder de Criação is moving, while About 3 Little Fishes hints at an early influence of hip-hop. All total up to a striking collection of covers done in highly unlikely fashion.