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Holocene, cut in New York in 2004 and in Amsterdam a year later, is an intimate trio recording with accordionist Guy Klucevsek and cellist Erik Friedlander. The group traces Moore’s gentle themes with exquisite care, stretching them carefully between from meticulously arranged passages to wide-open sections where the player carrying the melody tugs against the harmonies of the others. Moore’s clarinet and alto feel lighter than air, but they’re never toothless; there’s a bite to his tone that sneaks up on you. Melancholy and torpor hover over the tuneful pieces, in keeping with the Bob Dylan quote Moore includes in the liner notes to suggest we’re in “the New Dark Ages.” Moore is a big Dylan fan–his trio Jewels & Binoculars does nothing but Dylan pieces–and the pretty melody of his original “Trouble House” would’ve seemed natural in of Dylan’s late-60s ballads.
The most introspective release in this batch is the digital-only This We Know (Palmetto), a 2003 duo date with Moore and pianist Fred Hersch, with whom he’s worked off and on for more than three decades. On originals by both players and a killer take on Monk’s “Four in One,” they display a preternatural rapport, and they share an ability to situate weird harmonic twists within the most fluid, accessible pieces.
