Explorations of the music of Bob Dylan for reeds, bass and percussion.

"At first blush, the idea of Amsterdam-based clarinetist 
Michael Moore paying tribute to Bob Dylan in a year when so many 
others are marking the songwriter's 60th birthday might seem a bit 
odd, but then recall that Clusone Trio covered Dylan's obscure "Love 
Henry" on its 1996 live recording and it all begins to make sense. In 
brief liner notes, Moore remarks how Dylan blends traditional song 
forms and unique visual imagery and explains that 'Jewels and 
Binoculars' sets out to explore both the melodic roots of Dylan's 
songs and the poet's vivid palette. The result is an impressive 
triumph that defies categorization.

The choice of material is centered in the period when Dylan 
still looked to other sources - English folk songs, Civil War 
ballads, the blues - for melodies, with the bulk of the 11 pieces 
coming from the early 60's, including "Boots of Spanish Leather",
"Fourth Time Around" and "Dear Landlord." In some instances the choice 
of song seems inspired and anything but obvious. A case in point is 

"Percy's Song", an early concert favorite of Dylan's that wasn't 
released officially until the 1985 Biograph box set. One of the few 
songs that Dylan admits to borrowing - from prolific songwriter Paul 
Clayton - it has a memorable melody with a resolve hook that was a
perfect match for Dylan's lyrics. Moore, bassist Horner and 
percussionist Vatcher give it a bustling, fluid treatment, fueled by 
Vatcher's supple brushwork, and succeed in creating the perfect
tribute: one that makes a musical statement that stands on its own
while driving you back to the original, as well.

The improvisational approach the band takes elsewhere is 
equally compelling, with Horner defining a riff, Moore extrapolating 
the melody and Vatcher providing color on bells, woodblocks and, only 
occasionally, the drums. In their hands, "Highway 61 Revisited" gets 
boiled down to its roadhouse blues basics, with Horner thumping out 
the "have it on Highway 61" line over and over; "With God on Our 
Side" becomes a raging excursion into free jazz; and "I Pity the Poor 
Immigrant" has a klezmer-inflected chorus that nods to Dylan's Jewish 
roots."

James Hale, Coda, March/April 2002

"[This] Dylan project sounds as if Moore has paved a peaceful, rural 
shoulder along Highway 61. The recording addresses the lyrical genius 
of Dylan and American folk music in general from an acute angle. 
Jewels and Binoculars confronts us with a scarcely recognized 
paradigm - that jazz music has folk roots. Evidence to this can be 
witnessed elsewhere, as with Junk Genius's Ghost of Electricity 
(Songlines), where clarinetist Ben Goldberg and guitarist John Schott 
attempt to build original folk music within jazz structure from the 
ground up. This however is the first time that a creative jazz artist 
has paid homage with a tribute recording to the music of Bob Dylan, 
and it has been done with both class and affection. Moore's is a 
refined approach to the music. Midway through "Visions of Johanna" we 
find his clarinet surging forward into anthemic territory, as if 
searching for uncovered features to the song's subjects. "I Pity the 
Poor Immigrant" and "Dear Landlord" are wondrously played, with 
Lindsey Horner's bass bringing new colors to their melodies. The 
interplay between Moore and drummer Michael Vatcher is often 
stimulating, particularly when Moore is wielding the clarinet. As a 
whole, there is a blend of courage and melancholy in the tunes, which 
owes largely to the careful sequencing of the record. Bob Dylan 
should be flattered, as his music here is imaginatively interpreted 
with gorgeous instrumentation, while treated with obliging respect."

Alan Jones


"Bob Dylan's focus is on words, messages, and simple melodies 
that speak to the soul... Stripped of their pop rhythms and vocals, 
the songs stand on their own as attractive melodies with hooks and 
nooks. It doesn't hurt to have the kind of extraordinary talent 
comprising this trio. Dylan's voice might sound like a stretched cello 
string, but there is no imitation here... Moore's clarinet 
(particularly the bass clarinet) sings sonorously, faithful to the 
original tunes. Moore sticks pretty close to the melody, adding 
flourishes here and there, but with Horner and Vatcher behind him, 
the results, while not revolutionary, are never less than 
fascinating. Horner is particularly forceful on acoustic bass, where 
he pushes the edges (but only the edges) with a preternatural 
intensity..."

Steven Loewy - Cadence, February 2002


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