Johnathan Moore Doesn’t Miss A Beat

Johnathan Moore was ready to add a layer of sound. He reached for the Boss RC 600 loop station pedal and … nothing.

Moore said nothing. He made no excuses. He kept the beat going. He pivoted to a new plan — and the music played on.

Moore, a 26-year-old cellist making a name for himself as a composer and performer, was performing his piece ​“Glory” while squished behind the tiny-tiny-tiniest-possible-tiny desk on WNHH FM’s ​“Acoustic Thursday @ Studio 51” program. (Click on the above video to watch the full episode.)

Moore describes his music as ​“unorthodox cello,” with a style incorporating gospel, jazz, classical, and funk.

On songs like ​“Glory,” he builds layers of sound one upon the other, from chords picked on the lower registers to melody or improvisational notes at a higher register on a bed of strummed or slapped rhythm. A one-man string band.

That was his plan for performing ​“Glory” on air Tuesday. When the equipment malfunctioned, he remembered advice he learned about performing: ​“You have to be ready. Just keep going.” People don’t want to hear about what is working or not working. They want to hear music. And there’s always more than one way to play a piece.

So he kept the chord progression steady on ​“Glory.” He quieted that playing and began plucking more forceful melody into the gaps. The original plan was to preserve those two parts in loops, pick up his bow. That would have to wait for another day.

Here is the result:

(To hear the full multi-part versions of his music, check out a previous video, at the bottom of this story.)

Moore first picked up the cello at 10 years old. That he’d play music was a foregone notion. He comes from a family of musicians: His mother Lucinda Moore is a gospel recording artist, his father George Moore a professional bassist. (His uncle, Willie Joe Moore, is also a longtime bass player on the local circuit.) Miss Cosgrove, his teacher at Betsy Ross School, handed Moore the cello to try out; it was a match. Moore loved the cello’s range, as it’s the instrument that comes closest to human voices singing. He honed his chops at Coop High, then Southern Connecticut State University.

Now he’s making a living performing. He has an upcoming gig performing (accompanied by a dancer) at a Prince Tribute concert at Manhattan’s Symphony Space, followed by a residency in Florida.

In between he’s recording some of his compositions, including ​“Glory” — with bowing and all other planned layers in play.

A previous ​“Acoustic Thursday @ Studio 51” performance:

• MJ Bones