Bob Moses (musician)
A master drummer whose fluid, melodic approach and embrace of electronics helped shape the sound of jazz fusion and modern improvisational music.
Born 1948 (age 78)·American jazz drummer·Birthday: January 28·Baby Boomers
Biography
Bob Moses played drums on Gary Burton's pioneering quartet recordings and early Larry Coryell fusion experiments. Emerging from Boston's creative ferment in the late 1960s, he became a sought-after collaborator for musicians who valued texture and spontaneity. His style—a flowing, melodic conversation across the kit—made him a perfect fit. Moses adopted electronic drums and synthesizers early, weaving them into his acoustic sound with a composer's ear. This forward-thinking approach defined his own bands, including the innovative group Mozown. For over five decades, he has taught and explored. His playing demonstrates that rhythm can be as expressive as any horn or melody. Born in 1948, he continues to perform and record.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Bob was born in 1948, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Bob Was Born
The biggest hits of 1948
#1 Movie
The Red Shoes
Best Picture
Hamlet
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Bob's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1948Born
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
1953Started school
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1961Became a teenager
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1964Could drive
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1966Could vote
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1969Turned 21
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1978Turned 30
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1988Turned 40
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 50
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 60
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 70
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 78 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- A key early member of Gary Burton's quartet, contributing to the development of a modern jazz vibraphone sound in the late 1960s and 70s.
- Co-led the pioneering jazz fusion band the Free Spirits with guitarist Larry Coryell in the mid-1960s.
- Released acclaimed albums as a bandleader, such as 'Bittersweet in the Ozone' and 'When Elephants Dream of Music'.
- Became a respected educator, teaching at the New England Conservatory and the Berklee College of Music.
Did You Know?
He started playing drums at a very young age and was performing professionally by his mid-teens.
He is known for using a wide array of percussion instruments beyond the standard drum kit, including bells and gongs.
He composed all the music for his 1975 album 'Bittersweet in the Ozone'.
He has collaborated with a diverse range of artists, from Pat Metheny and Bobby McFerrin to folk singer Tim Buckley.
“The drums are a melodic instrument; they sing and they dance.”
