Montreal, Toronto and Europe

From 1983 to 1986, Mover resided in Montreal, where he taught at Concordia University and recorded his 5th album as a leader – The Nightbathers (Justin’ Time) – ‘free’ improvisations with Paul Bley and John Abercrombie.

Moving to Toronto in 1987, Mover became an important figure in establishing homes for jazz at the Rex Hotel, The Pilot Tavern and Quigley’s. In 1988, he began a touring partnership based in NYC with Walter Davis Jr., a protégé of Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk and veteran of groups led by Charlie Parker, Art Blakey, Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean and others. They toured together, playing concerts and festivals in France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Nederlands, US and Canada until Davis’s unfortunate death in 1990. During this period, Davis featured Mover on four tracks of his CD, Illumination, which was recorded for the label Pony Canyon/Jazz City Series in 1988, with Ron Carter and Kenny Washington. Mover also recorded his own CD, You Go To My Head, for the same label in December of that year featuring Rufus Reid, Benny Green, Victor Lewis and Steve Hall.

1989 brought Bob to Osaka, Japan, to perform at Expo 1989. That year he toured he toured France with Walter Bishop playng the Charlie Parker with Strings material and participated in the "Alto Summit" homage to Charlie Parker concert at La Villette in Paris along with Jackie McLean, Phil Woods, Clarence "C" Sharpe, Vincent Herring and Frank Morgan (with a rhythm section consisting of Walter Davis Jr., Percy Heath, and Roy Haynes). That same year in Toronto, he and pianist Bob Fenton presented a concert/lecture music and dinner series on the music and lives of Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins at the McMichael Gallery of Art, in Kleinberg, Ontario.

In 1992, Bob played French Jazz Festivals in quartet, and with a chamber orchestra playing the Charlie Parker With Strings repertoire with Walter Bishop on piano (who had been Bird’s pianist on the original tour ‘With Strings’) where Bob improvised the Parker role. Bob and Walter Bishop also traveled to The Super Jazz Festival in Tel Aviv, Israel that year to play a quartet tribute to “Bird” that also featured the great bassist, Ray Brown.

From 1987 to 1997, Mover lived in Toronto, where he created a course at York University, Musicianship for Jazz Singers. He continued his touring schedule making seasonal trips to Europe often in the company of one of his early mentors from Miami Tony Castellano. Castellano, who died in 1999, was an extremely original pianist, who had played many years with Ira Sullivan as well as accompanying visiting artists such as Dizzy Gillespie and Sonny Stit in Florida. He and Mover recorded a still ”yet to be issued” duet CD in 1998 (in NYC).

Currently

After recording a live cd "Television" from a 1997 Concert im Montreal which featured pianist John Hicks, Bob returned to NYC. There he taught at New Jersey City University, and gave regular weekly improvisation classes at “One Soul Studios” in Manhattan, while playing around the tri-state area, and recording with vocalist, Jane Blackstone on her CD “Natural Habitat, NYC” (in Motief Records).

After a west coast tour (Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Portland), in August of 2001, Bob resided brefly in Portland Oregon than returned to Toronto untill February 2004 when he returned to Manhatan where he now resides.

In September, 2008, Zoho Music released Bob's new recording "It Amazes Me," featuring Kenny Barron on piano, Dennis Irwin on bass, Steve Williams on drums, Reg Schwager on guitar and special guest Igor Butman on tenor sax. Bob's alto, tenor and vocals have received rave reviews.

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