David Moore / Bing & Ruth

At the forefront of contemporary instrumental music, the work of composer and pianist David Moore gently defies genre. When discussing his atmospheric music, he doesn’t describe its sound so much as the spirit in which it arises—terms like “freedom,” “grace,” and “openness” echo across the years. As leader of Bing & Ruth, the sublime spaciousness of Moore’s live ensemble compositions helped reshape America’s musical landscape from the early aughts onward. His evolving work with that ensemble as well as his solo projects and other collaborations with Steve Gunn and Cowboy Sadness reveal an artist forever expanding his breadth and depth.

Moore hails from Topeka, Kansas and a long line of preachers, and musicians. His father, a bluegrass player, began teaching him music at the age of six, regularly exposing him to Kansas’ vibrant acoustic music scene. These early experiences rooted Moore in the folk tradition, while seeding a love for landscape and spiritual inquiry that continue to inform his music.

Drawn to improvisation, Moore navigated the performance scene in Kansas City and studied at the UMKC Conservatory of Music before heading to New York City in 2004. There he earned a B.A. in music from The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, where he met skilled musicians who shared his desire to merge classical composition and cinematic experimentalism with hypnotically spacious live performance. It was out of their early practice sessions that the ensemble Bing & Ruth emerged. Moore drew the ensemble’s name from characters in a short story by Amy Hempel, whose minimalist prose reaffirmed the powerful simplicity he was musically drawn to.

Following Moore’s solo debut Book of Days in 2005, Bing & Ruth self-released their eponymous first EP in 2006. Championed by music curator Ronen Givony, they secured regular bookings at influential venues like (Le) Poisson Rouge and the Wordless Music Series. In 2010 Moore founded Happy Talk Records and released the group’s debut album, City Lake. As their audience grew, a partnership with RVNG Intl. expanded their reach, beginning with the 2017 album Tomorrow Was the Golden Age. Bing & Ruth have since released a total of four albums and five EPs and toured internationally, evolving from a 15-piece ensemble to a trio on their most recent album Species.

Focusing more on solo works and various collaborative projects, Moore continues expanding his sound. Collaborations with guitarist Steve Gunn (Let the Moon Be a Planet and Live in London) and Cowboy Sadness (Selected Jambient Works, Vol 1.) explore fresh serendipities and psychedelic pastures with gifted friends. While he’s been largely based in Brooklyn for years, it’s in that liminal space that Moore’s art has always thrived. And that’s where our listening is invited for vital refreshment.