Bob Mover
Encyclopedia
Mover, Bob (born March 22, 1952, Boston
, Massachusetts
) is an alto, tenor and soprano jazz saxophonist
and a vocalist. His father was a musician who played professionally including stints with the Charlie Spivak
orchestra. He started playing the alto saxophone
at age 13, studied with Phil Woods
at a summer music camp, and took private lessons with Ira Sullivan
.
for a five-month period at New York City’s 5 Spot Café. By 1975 Mover was working regularly in New York City jazz clubs with Chet Baker
and he made his first European appearances with Baker at La Grande Parade du Jazz in (Nice, France), Jazz Festival Laren (Holland), and the Middleheim Jazz Festival (Antwerp, Belgium
).
In late 1975, Mover started leading his own groups around the New York area, and made his first two recordings as a leader in 1976 and 1977: On the Move (on the Choice label) and Bob Mover (Vanguard). Regular weekly gigs at the Sweet Basil in Greenwich Village featured prestigious sidemen such as Tom Harrell
, Jimmy Garrison
, Kenny Barron, Albert Dailey, Ben Riley, Mike Nock and Ron McLure.
Mover rejoined Chet Baker in 1981 for a European tour, playing in France
, Belgium
, the Netherlands, Austria
and Cologne
, Germany
, where they made the recordings Chet Baker Live at Club Salt Peanuts Koln, Volumes 1 and 2 (Circle).
Mover recorded two more albums as a leader in 1981 and 1982, In the True Tradition and Things Unseen, both issued by Xanadu and both of which rated five stars in the All Music Guide to Recorded Jazz.
In 1983, Bob moved to Montreal
and taught at Concordia University
. Three years later, in 1986, he recorded his fifth album as leader, "The Nightbathers" with pianist Paul Bley
and guitarist John Abercrombie, which was an experiment in free improvisation
. From 1987 to 1997, Mover lived in Toronto
and became a fixture of the Toronto jazz scene, also touring Europe
with pianists Walter Davis Jr.
and Tony Castillano. Together with Don Thompson
and Archie Alleyne, Mover helped found the Toronto Jazz Quartet, a pianoless four-piece working band that played in and around the Toronto area including bars such as the Rex Hotel, Quigley's and the Pilot Tavern. He accepted a teaching position at York University
, giving saxophone masterclasses and teaching a course he created called "Musicianship for Jazz Singers". During this period, in 1988 Walter Davis Jr. featured Bob on four tracks of his CD Illumination (Pony Canyon/Jazz City) with Ron Carter
and Kenny Washington
. The same year, Mover released another album as leader on the same label called You Go to My Head with Rufus Reid, Benny Green, Victor Lewis and Steve Hall.
He released an album recorded in Montreal in 1997 called Television (DSM) featuring John Hicks and Jake Wilkinson.
His latest release is 'It Amazes Me' on Zoho music which includes sidemen Kenny Barron and Reg Schwager.
, Lee Konitz
, Ira Sullivan, Stan Getz
, and Sonny Rollins
. His improvisations are melodically based, with lyrical melodies interspersed with complex bebop type lines. His selection of repertoire is wide and varied, with an encyclopedic knowledge of both standard and unconventional broadway and movie musical tunes.
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
) is an alto, tenor and soprano jazz saxophonist
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
and a vocalist. His father was a musician who played professionally including stints with the Charlie Spivak
Charlie Spivak
Charlie Spivak was an American trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his big band in the 1940s.-Biography:...
orchestra. He started playing the alto saxophone
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
at age 13, studied with Phil Woods
Phil Woods
Philip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
at a summer music camp, and took private lessons with Ira Sullivan
Ira Sullivan
Ira Sullivan is a bop jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, flautist, saxophonist and composer born in Washington, D.C.. An active musician since the 1950s, he may be best known for his extensive work with Red Rodney and Lin Halliday among others....
.
Career
In 1973, at the age of 21, Mover was a sideman for Charles MingusCharles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
for a five-month period at New York City’s 5 Spot Café. By 1975 Mover was working regularly in New York City jazz clubs with Chet Baker
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.Though his music earned him a large following , Baker's popularity was due in part to his "matinee idol-beauty" and "well-publicized drug habit."He died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the...
and he made his first European appearances with Baker at La Grande Parade du Jazz in (Nice, France), Jazz Festival Laren (Holland), and the Middleheim Jazz Festival (Antwerp, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
).
In late 1975, Mover started leading his own groups around the New York area, and made his first two recordings as a leader in 1976 and 1977: On the Move (on the Choice label) and Bob Mover (Vanguard). Regular weekly gigs at the Sweet Basil in Greenwich Village featured prestigious sidemen such as Tom Harrell
Tom Harrell
Tom Harrell is a renowned American post-bop jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer and arranger.-Biography:Tom Harrell was born in Urbana, Illinois but moved to the San Francisco Bay Area at the age of five. He started playing trumpet at eight and within five years, started playing gigs with...
, Jimmy Garrison
Jimmy Garrison
Jimmy Garrison was an American jazz double bassist born in Miami, Florida. He was best known through his long association with John Coltrane from 1961–1967.-Biography:...
, Kenny Barron, Albert Dailey, Ben Riley, Mike Nock and Ron McLure.
Mover rejoined Chet Baker in 1981 for a European tour, playing in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, the Netherlands, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, where they made the recordings Chet Baker Live at Club Salt Peanuts Koln, Volumes 1 and 2 (Circle).
Mover recorded two more albums as a leader in 1981 and 1982, In the True Tradition and Things Unseen, both issued by Xanadu and both of which rated five stars in the All Music Guide to Recorded Jazz.
In 1983, Bob moved to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and taught at Concordia University
Concordia University
Concordia University is a comprehensive Canadian public university located in Montreal, Quebec, one of the two universities in the city where English is the primary language of instruction...
. Three years later, in 1986, he recorded his fifth album as leader, "The Nightbathers" with pianist Paul Bley
Paul Bley
Paul Bley, CM is a pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing.-Biography:...
and guitarist John Abercrombie, which was an experiment in free improvisation
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
. From 1987 to 1997, Mover lived in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and became a fixture of the Toronto jazz scene, also touring Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
with pianists Walter Davis Jr.
Walter Davis, Jr.
Walter Davis, Jr. was an American hard bop pianist.Born in Richmond, Virginia, Davis performed as a teenager with Babs Gonzales and his group Three Bips and a Bop. In the 1950s, Davis recorded with Melba Liston, Max Roach and played with Roach, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie...
and Tony Castillano. Together with Don Thompson
Don Thompson (musician)
Donald Winston Thompson, OC is a Canadian jazz musician who plays bass, piano, and vibes. Thompson formed part of the Toronto Quartet of Paul Desmond during the mid seventies, and that effort produced two stellar albums. Other personnel on those dates, mostly at Bourbon Street in Toronto, were...
and Archie Alleyne, Mover helped found the Toronto Jazz Quartet, a pianoless four-piece working band that played in and around the Toronto area including bars such as the Rex Hotel, Quigley's and the Pilot Tavern. He accepted a teaching position at York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
, giving saxophone masterclasses and teaching a course he created called "Musicianship for Jazz Singers". During this period, in 1988 Walter Davis Jr. featured Bob on four tracks of his CD Illumination (Pony Canyon/Jazz City) with Ron Carter
Ron Carter
Ron Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
and Kenny Washington
Kenny Washington (musician)
Kenny Washington is a jazz drummer born in Staten Island, New York.He studied at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts...
. The same year, Mover released another album as leader on the same label called You Go to My Head with Rufus Reid, Benny Green, Victor Lewis and Steve Hall.
He released an album recorded in Montreal in 1997 called Television (DSM) featuring John Hicks and Jake Wilkinson.
His latest release is 'It Amazes Me' on Zoho music which includes sidemen Kenny Barron and Reg Schwager.
Style
Mover has an explosive sound and style on the sax, directly influenced by Charlie ParkerCharlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
, Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois.Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings...
, Ira Sullivan, Stan Getz
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
, and Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
. His improvisations are melodically based, with lyrical melodies interspersed with complex bebop type lines. His selection of repertoire is wide and varied, with an encyclopedic knowledge of both standard and unconventional broadway and movie musical tunes.
As Leader
- Television, Bob Mover Quintet featuring John Hicks and Jake Wilkinson, (DSM records)
- You Go To My Head, Bob Mover Quartet & Quintet, with Rufus Reid, Victor Lewis, Benny GreenBenny Green (pianist)Benny Green is a hard bop jazz pianist who was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He has been compared to Bud Powell in style and counts him as an influence. As a boy he grew up in Berkeley, California and studied classical piano from the age of seven...
, Steve Hall (Pony Canyon CD) - The Night Bathers, Bob Mover Trio, feat. Paul Bley and John Abercrombie (Justin´ Time Records)
- Things Unseen, Solo, duo, trio, quartet and quintet, with Albert Dailey, Ray Drummond, Rufus Reid, Bobby Ward, Steve Hall (Xanadu RecordsXanadu RecordsXanadu Records was a jazz music record label specializing in bebop throughout the 1970s and 1980s founded by Don Schlitten, recording and issuing recordings by some legendary names in jazz music.-Discography:...
) - In the True Tradition, Bob Mover Trio with Rufus Reid and Bobby Ward (Xanadu RecordsXanadu RecordsXanadu Records was a jazz music record label specializing in bebop throughout the 1970s and 1980s founded by Don Schlitten, recording and issuing recordings by some legendary names in jazz music.-Discography:...
) - Bob Mover, featuring Kenny Barron, Ben Riley, Ron McLure and Claudio Roditi (Vanguard Records)
- On the Move, featuring Tom Harrell, George Mraz, Jay Clayton, Mike Nock, Jeff Papez and Peter Sprague (Choice Records)
As Sideman
- Natural Habitat NYC, Jane Blackstone with Sir Roland Hanna and others
- Illumination, Walter Davis Jr. with Ron Carter and Kenny Washington (Pony Canyon Records)
- Chet Baker Live at Club Salt Peanuts Köln Germany, Volumes 1,2, with John Eardley (Circle Records)
- The Lee Konitz Quintet: Affinity, with Mike Moore, Ben Aronov and Jimmy Madison (Chiaroscuro Records)
- 111 Sullivan Street, Yoshiaki Masuo (East Wind Records)
- The Lion's Eyes, Steve HoltSteve Holt (Canadian musician)Steve Holt is a Canadian musician.Steve Holt exhibited musical ability in early childhood, playing piano at the age of four. In 1960 his family moved to Cote St. Luc and during these formative years he spent long hours at the piano. By the time he was a teenager, Holt was a regular on the Montreal...
, Sextet (Plug Records)