Moondog [Prestige]

Recorded in New York, New York in 1956. Originally released on Prestige (7042).
All tracks have been digitally remastered from original analog master tapes.
Moondog's 1956 debut album clocks in at just 31 minutes, but what a passionately resonant and bracingly inventive half-hour it is! Moondog was known at the time as a blind street musician on the streets of New York City, but these compositions show him to be much more than that. They're melodically alluring, mixing a modernist's propensities with a classicist's love of grounded tradition.
"Surf Session" is a three-part suite that utilizes a quartet along with the recorded sounds of waves washing ashore. "Dance Rehearsal" finds Moondog accompanying a dance teacher and her pupil, with the sound of spoken instructions mixing in with the playing. "Trees Against the Sky" features Moondog's own voice recorded twice, over his percussion. It utilizes the round form, which Moondog explored for much of his career. "Tap Dance" has Ray Malone ad libbing to Moondog's drumming, and "Street Scene" is three-and-a-half minutes of drumming and dialogue against a backdrop of Manhattan traffic sounds. This music is friendly and engaging from beginning to end.