The Drinkin' Buddy Magazine

October 1998

Stanton Moore - All Kooked Out!

by Chris Barton

Rating: 4 out of 4
Style: Jazz-Funk Manna

Stanton Moore, percussion wizard from the New Orleans grease-funk combo Galactic, apparently wasn’t content with merely stocking his solo album on Fog City Records with just any session players. Along with a few notable New Orleans scenesters, he combines with eight-string guitar freak-of-nature Charlie Hunter and renowned "saxophonic" lunatic, Skerik (Critters Buggin, Tuatara), resulting in a CD that features three of the driving forces behind the young jazz renaissance that is making great strides in liberating jazz from the confines of fusion and "quiet storms, soft and warm" that you ordinarily hear percolating happily out of your mother’s living room hi-fi. Needless to say, when I first heard who appeared on this album, I couldn’t believe my ears. Then I heard the album, and I couldn’t believe my ears.

When the disk kicks off, it takes all of a few seconds for any listener to realize they’re about to experience something special. The album justifiably brags it was recorded "completely live (no overdubs, no headphones)" over five days, a fact that only makes the disk that much more amazing. Charlie does his usual psychotic organ impersonation with his guitar while at the same time (for those of you unfamiliar with his work) using the three bass strings on his guitar to lay down a nice bottom end. Just listening to Charlie is often enough to cause serious mental trauma, but then you realize what the other players are doing. Stanton, while extremely solid on Galactic’s CDs, wasn’t really given the opportunity to stretch out as he does in their live shows. With this disk, he truly establishes himself as one of the forces to be reckoned with in the new school of jazz. The man is simply all over his set. If that weren’t enough, Skerik jumps into the mix with more restrained, straight-ahead jazz work that was only hinted at on the Tuatara albums.

On the Thelonius Monk cover "Green Chimneys," Skerik loses his mind on a warped solo that recalls the inspired skronk of John Coltrane, only to be followed immediately by more jaw-dropping fretwork from Charlie. At no time on this disk are you reminded of the fact this is the drummer’s album (though he is given ample opportunity to strut his stuff as well); there is plenty of room on this disk for all the players. On "Blues for Ben," another sax jumps into the fray with a tuba, trombone, and trumpet, giving the song the rollicking party-on-wheels vibe of a massive New Orleans funeral procession. "Nalgas" opens with a buttery-smooth line from Skerik before launching into some funk that should come with a warning label. The disk continues, each moment somehow topping the previous, and just when you think you can’t handle any more and the CD surely must have reached its peak, "Stanton Hits the Bottle" takes off with an ungodly percussion line that I can only say is exactly as advertised. It’s absolutely breathtaking, and there are three more tracks still to go. I could go on and rave about every song on this disk, but you really want something still left to the imagination, don’t you?

The only way this disk can be any better is if the three of them set up right in your den. There are moments where this CD can be viewed as breathtaking as Monk jamming with Coltrane, or Corea burning with Hancock. It’s just that good, and sometimes better. The sound you hear as the last mellow notes of "Honey Island" fade away at the disk’s end is the sound of jazz finally moving into a new era, after decades of semi-hibernation. Do whatever you have to do to get your hands on this record. Kill if you must. [Just make sure you tell the cops that Chris made you do it - db]

Check out Stanton Moore's website at http://www.fogworld.com/stanton for more info on the band and his gig schedule. You can also listen to the entire album online, in stereo and for free!

Article copyright © 1998 The Drinkin' Buddy Magazine.
Copyright © 1998 Fog City Productions. Design by Fog City Graphics.