Graze the Bell is a collection of soul-stirring, mesmerising solo piano pieces, and the most distilled offering of David Moore’s artistry to date. Known for his atmospheric compositions with Bing & Ruth, as well as his collaborations with guitarist Steve Gunn and Cowboy Sadness, this marks Moore’s first widely shared solo piano album. Like the cover, a photograph that Moore embroidered by hand, the music abstracts personal experiences into transcendent impressions. Using his piano to meditatively inquire into the human condition, Graze the Bell is a sanctuary of sound.
Using only the piano, Moore sought to expand upon the reliable methods he had developed over the years. “I want to keep growing,” he says, “and challenge dogmatic ways of thinking.” Actively embracing experimentation and seeking a deeper presence in his playing, he reassessed his relationship to the piano and to life. While Moore’s music is based on composed notations and draws from life experiences, the source of his inspiration remains more ineffable. Consciously nurturing the latter, he developed a natural ability to tune into a trance-like state. Moore can sit down with that intention, “and within a few seconds,” he is “totally there.” From the first note to the last, the album is grounded in the breathtaking tone of a “beastly” 1987 Hamburg Steinway Model D. This is partly to do with his subtle playing style, which at times touches upon silence.
