A New Orleans musician in every sense of the word, drummer
Stanton Moore's main gig is with his enormously popular funk band Galactic but he also plays with a wide variety of other musicians in both club and studio settings.
Growing up in New Orleans, Moore was attracted to the thriving music scene, where he absorbed the work of
Professor Longhair,
Meters drummer
Zigaboo Modeliste, and his mentor, Johnny Vidacovich. After meeting founding Galactic members
Robert Mercurio and Rich Vogel in the early '90s, Moore played in a series of early versions of the group, including Galactic Prophylactic and the Ivanhoes (in which the band learned a good portion of the catalog of the legendary
Meters, New Orleans' founding funk band).
In 1994, producer
Dan Prothero featured the band's song "Black Eyed Pea" on his Is That Jazz compilation. The band soon recorded
Coolin' Off (1996) for Fog City Records, joined in the studio (and, eventually, on the road) by vocalist
Theryl Declouet. Through constant touring, Moore met and collaborated with many established funk and jazz musicians, including
Medeski, Martin & Wood keyboardist
John Medeski,
Karl Denson, and even
the Meters' bassist George Porter, Jr.
Two musicians that Moore hit it off with in particular were eight-string guitarist and TJ Kirk founder
Charlie Hunter and saxophonist
Skerik. With this core, the band played a handful of live dates and, in the weeks after Mardi Gras 1998, cut what would become oore's first solo disc, All Kooked Out. The disc also featured a handful of New Orleans horn players, including Brent Rose,
Brian Seeger,
Matt Perrine,
Ben Ellman, and former
Sun Ra trumpet player
Michael Ray.
Following the recording of
Crazyhorse Mongoose with Galactic, crammed in between Galactic tours, Moore traveled with
Hunter and
Skerik, playing incendiary live shows throughout the west. Many of Moore's songs are included in Galactic's setlist. He has often played around New Orleans with a revolving cast of musicians, billed as Moore and More. He has also been a member of the New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars. He has released a handful of solo albums including All Kooked Out! in 1998, Flyin' the Koop in 2001, III in 2006 and Emphasis! On Parenthesis in 2008. ~ Jesse Jarnow, All Music Guide