Bob Moses - When Elephants Dream of Music (Gramavision, 1983)

This post is by Scott

Bob Moses [Rahboat Ntumba Moses] (dr, vo, perc); Chris Rogers (tr); Terumasa Hino (cor); David Gross (as); Jim Pepper (ts); Doc Halliday (ts, ss); Barry Rogers (tb, b tb); Jeremy Steig (b fl, 1 trk only); Howard Johnson (tu, cl); Bill Frisell (g); David Friedman (vib, mar); Lyle Mays (synth); Michael Formanek (b); Steve Swallow (el b); Paul Socolow (el b, 1 trk only); Bob Weiner (d, 1 trk only); Aiyb Dieng (perc); Joe Bonadio (perc); Naná Vasconcelos (perc, vo); Bemshi Shearer (vo); Jahnet Levatin (vo); Jeanne Lee (vo); Marion Cowings (vo); Paula Potocki (vo); Sheila Jordan (vo); Toni Wilson (vo)

Recorded on April 11-12, 1982

Bob Moses was aiming high when he made When Elephants Dream of Music.  Just look at the size of that ensemble.  Clearly, this is no blowing session.  It's not even a typical big band date.  What it is is an incredible assemblage of creative musicians who make some incredible, creative music.  It's a flowing, dream-like sonic collage that's unlike anything I've ever heard before.

At the beginning of this project, when I was compiling a list of albums to include in our survey, I immediately added When Elephants Dream of Music to my list.  I didn't need to deliberate.  It was a no-brainer.  This evocative, uncategorizable music deserves to be heard by far more listeners.