A Story of Creativity, Resilience, and Rebirth

This is an uplifting story about a pure artist—drummer and composer Ra Kalam Bob Moses—and his philosophy of Living Music.

About the Film

Growing up in the heart of the 1960s New York music scene with a host of jazz icons, Moses made historic records and gave legendary performances with other musical masters. Despite his explosive start, he rejected the commercial path, pushing the boundaries of avant-garde music and delving into other artistic forms. Embarking on a spiritual journey, he took on the name Ra Kalam.

This film captures Moses’ story in his own words and includes interviews with some of his most notable collaborators, protégés, longtime friends, and family. It traces his victories and struggles balancing his life and identity as an uncompromising artist, educator, father, seeker, and free thinker, and his recent battle with cancer, which has ignited a profound creative rebirth.

The most unconventional music lesson of my life led to this project. I went into the lesson knowing almost nothing about Ra Kalam. After drinking tea and talking some, I spent nearly 3 hours listening to him sing, play, and explain his philosophy of living music. The lesson ended with me picking out an album and watching him “contour” (dance). Years of reflecting on this lesson—and many lessons since—have helped me accept myself and not feel like I need to be anyone else. Since that lesson, I’ve spent almost 20 years cultivating a friendship and mentorship with Ra Kalam.

~ Clif Koufman, Director

Check Out Ra Kalam’s Music & Collaborations:

  • “Bob Moses has an inspirational, one world approach to the music we play called jazz… he is a learned, erudite musician who has lots of fun on his many instruments. He is circumspect. He listens to the world around him and recreates it in a world of music, made in America, a national treasure.”

    ~ Abbey Lincoln

  • “Everything I do, I want to swing. I think music needs to swing no matter how abstract it gets. In fact, the more abstract, the more intellectual it gets, the more it needs to swing because that's the balancing factor.”

    ~ Ra Kalam Bob Moses

  • “With The Story of Moses, he has realized a masterwork of conception and sound. Adventure, originality, innovation and wisdom abound throughout this recording, an epic work by an ever growing and deepening artist. For me this is easily one of the most important and satisfying records of the past decade.”

    ~ Pat Metheny

  • “Ra Kalam Bob Moses is a great and most loyal and humorous Spirit-friend… A great and most sympathetic, intuitive and multi-gifted musician, A great and most creative drummer, dancer and composer, A great and most grateful student of my heart sound teachings and blessings, and a great and most sensitive hearer of heart songs. In my tribe, this great spirit is known as Ra Khalam, Sun Sound.”

    ~ Tisziji Muñoz

  • “It's always good to speak about a musician such as Bob Moses who has so much creativity, lightness and energy. He is without a doubt one of the greatest drummers in the world.”

    ~ Hermeto Pascoal

  • “If you have witnessed his performances or his band leading you have been blessed.”

    ~ Billy Martin

  • “As a personal friend and musical peer, I've collaborated with Bob and listened to him perform with some of the greatest names in Jazz. I feel that Moses is a fresh innovative artist who's talent deserves much wider exposure and recognition on the national and international creative music scene.”

    ~ Jack DeJohnette

  • “He was my first mentor… Moses is a rarity in this period; a true individualist, uncompromising, far reaching in his concepts and in all ways a true artistic person.”

    ~ David Liebman

  • “I am very grateful that Bob Moses landed at this place and time to grace our world with his openness, ingenuity, power, beauty, wit and immense creativity. His gifts to music are many. He inspired me when I was just starting to write and he continues to inspire me now. I'll always be anxious to hear where he takes us next.”

    ~ Maria Schneider

  • “Bob Moses’ playing is like the elements. Like the air he is everywhere and nowhere. He plays everything and nothing.”

    ~ Thomas Hebb

  • “Drummer, composer, artist, poet, dancer, visionary, nature mystic: Bob Moses's life has been a continuous quest for vision, spirit, compassion, growth, and mastery in a multiplicity of art forms.”

    ~ Zildjian Cymbals

Living Music is a fiscally sponsored project of the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville, a nonprofit organization. Contributions on behalf of Living Music should be made payable to the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville, and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.