“My parents were very sympathetic to me pursuing music. It didn’t matter, rock or jazz, I just liked to watch what the drummer was doing.”Īt around the age of ten, growing up in Des Moines, Iowa, the young Moore went to his parents and said that he wanted to play the drums. I always loved to watch the drummers when I would see a band playing. It had a bongo on it, and I was just fascinated by it and what it did. “I was really interested in the drums,” he says. It can be a challenge, but mostly I enjoy the variety these days as a jazz player.”Īs with many folks of a certain age now, Moore mentions the Beatles, and specifically Ringo Starr, the Fab Four’s drummer, as a reason for wanting to get into music. ![]() I enjoy that you have to be versatile and take any type of gig. My job is to keep time, then maybe have a chance to develop something, give some of my personality to the music. “As a drummer, I walk into a new situation and check things out. On the other hand, they can be hard to control! “Ride cymbals are designed for overtones. If you play with a relaxed grip, you get a nicer fuller tone out of the cymbal,” Moore says. “It also depends on how you hold your sticks. A single cymbal is capable of producing a wide array of sounds, depending on how and where the drummer strikes the instrument. Moore explains that besides time and feel, a good drummer works to mix the colors of the sounds that his drums and cymbals create. Hoffman adds that she appreciates Moore’s restraint while she plays “The cymbal is in the same range as the flute, and a drummer can really step on a flute player’s soloing,” she says, adding, “Besides feeling great in a rhythm section, Duncan is also a remarkable studio drummer and sight reader.” Wofford adds, “Preeminent drum master Duncan always brings a high level of creativity and energy to any performance.” “But a lot of what I’m playing is the feel of the tune and seeing where the soloist is going with the dynamics.” You don’t want to be overbearing,” he says. “I know that I’m going to play with a dryer cymbal backing up a flute. Speaking to Moore later in the evening, he says there is intentionality in his approach to the drums with differing soloists. When Schachter solos, there is a bit more punch to the drums and more splash in the sound of the cymbals. About the best way to describe Moore’s drumming is that it has a clean, crisp sound - a combination of restraint and excitement behind Hoffman’s flute. Hoffman plays lead and takes the first solo. The band launches into a blues, a slightly up-tempo number. ![]() Cigar in hand, Jim Croce’s portrait looms over my left shoulder, and mementos of the seventies’ singer/ songwriter hang along the wall opposite the bar. The night spot is full, and the waitresses wend their way between the bar and tables. His discography numbers well over 100 listings he has recorded with just about every prominent local musician or ensemble, from local guitar slingers Peter Sprague and Patrick Berrogain, to singer/songwriters Dan Connor and Deborah Liv Johnson. He has played drums for the Little River Band, Mose Allison, Tom Scott, and scores of other ensembles and musicians. One of the top go-to drummers for the top jazz ensembles, he also performs in country and popular bands. Since he came to town in the late seventies, Duncan Moore has distinguished himself as one of the most accomplished and busiest musicians in San Diego. Entering, I skirt around a cymbal as I step past the band. And just off to our left, literally almost right in the doorway, is Duncan Moore behind his drum kit. Sitting in with the quartet is saxophonist Ben Schachter. With Rob Thorsen on bass, flutist Holly Hoffman, and pianist Mike Wofford are leading a quartet on some straight ahead jazz. It’s a Tuesday, and the sidewalks aren’t overflowing with the throngs of crowds that can sometimes turn this part of town into a confirmation of your worst Malthusian fears.Īt the corner of Fifth and F Streets my friends and I step in to Croce’s, the Gaslamp’s anchor since the late eighties. Pedicab drivers solicit fares, and the homeless solicit for anything that might help. Nighttime in the Gaslamp District, bar hoppers pass by, the women in heels and very short skirts, and their men looking like they still aren’t ready to leave their fraternities. ![]() Moore with the Peter Sprague String Consort
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