I truly thought I had heard of every jazz piano player from the 50s onward. What a total shock to discover this guy Paul Moer. And I can’t even make the excuse that he’s from Europe; he was born in PA, and spent a lot of time on the West Coast, teaming with the likes of Jimmy Witherspoon, Jack Montrose, Dave Pell, Paul Horn, Rosemary Clooney and Stan Kenton. This two disc set features his trio work, and it is a wonderful collection of vintage hard bop.
Moer has a touch highly influenced by Wynton Kelly; filled with swing, style and class. There’s a single session from ’57 with Paul Chambers/b and Philly Joe Jones that has “Neat Foot” filled with warm embers. After that, there is a studio session from 1960 Hollywood with Jimmy Bond/b and Frank Butler/dr, with a dramatic “We’ll Be Together Again” and totally hip “I Love Paris” and “Cute.” A 1961 gig at San Clemente’s “Pour House” has Maurice Miller replacing Butler, and the team is in a bopping mood on “Stay Even,” the snappy read of “Things Ain’t What They Used to Be” and the full fisted “Shop-A-Doddle-Op.” Moer is fluid, fun and filled with creativity as he digs in and crawls out of grooves. A final 1991 sessions finds him with John Heard/b and Lawrence Marable/dr getting into the Elmo Hope songbook, coming up with a bluesy “Maybe So,” a rich intro to “Later For You” a Bill Evansy “Something for Kenny” and a grooving “Moe’s Bluff.”
A booklet inside gives tons of useful information on this guy as well as each session. Cudos to Fresh Sounds for bringing out a guy who’s guaranteed to stump your friends on a Blindfold Test. YOWZA!