Cover Notes
Sometimes, MOONDOG the enigma, defeats an unprejudiced view of his music. But, if we ignore the cloak of seeming inscrutability and concentrate on the music, the experience can be astonishing.
MOONDOG possesses an admirable virtue; he perceives music everywhere in life. The collection of vignettes contained in this album are fully realized attempts to integrate music and sound. Music and life´s sounds are inseparable to MOONDOG. Thus, the complete LULLABY contains the cry of the baby; a string duo appears comfortably at home in a FROG BOG setting; a New York STREET SCENE includes (American Indian inspired) drum solos, the wisdom of a far eastern philosopher, and the strident blowing of a police whistle commencing the flow of traffic.
A vast amount of the world´s music is part of MOONDOG´S working vocabulary. This reservoir of material serves his eclectic approach to composition. MOONDOG chooses deftly amongst all of music to elicit his surprising couplings. A pair of violins bowing Bach influenced counterpoint might be heard over a rhythmic pattern of Cuban drumming. The ability to find unexpectedly complementary areas of music is an essential ingredient in these miniature portraits of life´s many parts.
MOONDOG, the man (like his music) is a satisfying blend of many fibres. To many of New York´s millions. MOONDOG´S vigil on street concerns presents an extraordinary contrast to his physical background. Dressed in his famous army blankets. MOONDOG´S handsome visage and Royal Hussars´ physique challenges the steel towers amongst which he has chosen to dwell. While selling the sheets of his music, hung around his waist, his active hands are inconspicuously composing new music on a braille boord, discreetly hidden under the folds of his protective garments. At night, from well chosen sites, MOONDOG the street musician, performs on his singular assortment of instruments. Using a maraca and a clava as drumsticks. he plays upon two triangular-shaped drums. With his self-styled instrumentation he obtains a music both melodic and rhythmic in structure. The countless hours spent by MOONDOG on the streets of New York provides a constant stream of material for this great silent observer. MOONDOG´S music is what he has found in the world in which he lives. Through him we can view the world in a more perfect form.
Notes by Robert S. Altshuler
Recorded in New York City 1956
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