Conversations

Stanton Moore is primarily known as one of the premier funk musicians of his generation, thanks to his powerhouse drumming during his 20-year career in groups like Garage a Trois and Galactic. So it was a bold move to try something new: a jazz trio that he formed with pianist David Torkanowsky and bassist James Singleton, fellow New Orleanians who have a lot of experience working with such N.O. musicians as Professor Longhair, the Meters, and vocalist Irma Thomas, “the soul queen of New Orleans.” To really get down with the music, the trio gigged every Tuesday for 18 months at the Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro, the city’s “premier jazz club.” Moore believes that “improvised music should be conversational,” hence the title of this forward-looking CD. All the tunes but one (Herbie Hancock’s lovingly rendered “Driftin’”) are by fellow Crescent City musicians and the trio does some serious conversing on all of them. While a few numbers feature Moore’s extended solos over a monotonous vamp, which tend to slow things down, his drumming—and Singleton’s solo—really spice up the parade classic “Paul Barbarin’s Second Line,” written by Barbarin (an early N.O. jazz drummer) and “Driftin’,” which features Torkanowsky’s delightful stride piano intro. The elegiac “Waltz for All Souls” is a lovely change of pace.