Mr. Moore

From Bedazzled - Raquel Welch(l) and Dudley Moore (r)

I like Spotify - although it’s a bit creepy with it’s all-knowing algorithms. That being said, I am appreciative of what recommendations it makes. One artist in particular that came to my attention was Dudley Moore! Those of you who came of age in the 70’s and 80’s will know his name. He came to fame in the US by way of his movies - ‘10’ and ‘Arthur’. But he was well established as a comedian prior to that in the UK and a well-established pianist/recording artist as well.

This brings me to music - I’m not sure if Spotify recommended this tune I’m about to mention or if I browsed for it after an initial exposure to Dudley’s music; either way, I quickly fell in love his song with the Dudley Moore Trio - ‘The Millionaire’ from the soundtrack to the movie ‘Bedazzled’ My, oh my, how I love this tune - the harmonies, the melodic fluidity, the martini-infused relaxed nature. All of it is reminiscent of an era from my youth when I was imprinted with music from James Bond movies and soundtracks featuring the genius Burt Bacharach and Henry Mancini. I just wallow in the emotion this song provides - MARVELOUS!

Now, that being said, I hear in this song strong hints that point to the music of the Pat Metheny Group. Tunes where I hear a Mooreistic connection are: ‘Are You Going With Me?’ and most of what you’ll hear on the two classic albums ‘Still Life Talking’ and ‘Letter From Home’. Although there’s a bit of 60’s corn in Dudley’s music, the harmonies, use of space and Latin influences and overall feel point me toward Mr. Metheny. I wonder if he knows about Dudley’s music.

I highly recommend you give The Dudley Moore Trio’s music a listen, especially the music from ‘Bedazzled’ - not only for it’s influential components but for it’s intrinsic greatness. The writing and the playing is marvelous and lest I not forget to mention the drumming - truly worthy of sampling by current bands. Dudley Moore IMO was a genius both comedic and musically.

Cheers!