Photo by Patrick Gray
Stanton Moore was all set to record a new album with his Trio when the drummer got word of the passing of the legendary New Orleans musician and songwriter Allen Toussaint. Moore immediately scrapped his plans and instead chose to record a guest-heavy tribute album, With You in Mind, featuring ten Toussaint songs, including a new track inspired by a poem from the late keyboardist. Moore spoke to us from his New Orleans hometown about the album, the immense effect of Toussaint’s music, and the role of musicians as ambassadors for the Crescent City.
It’s wonderful for me to hear a tribute album that has the flow of a great record rather than a piecemeal collection of hits thrown together.
Thank you for saying that. I’m always trying to be conscious of continuity within a record. I was so confident we would achieve continuity because the trio—me, James Singleton (bass), and David Torkanowsky (piano)—we’d been playing a lot together. And all of the material is composed by Allen Toussaint. As we added special guests to it, and did funk in seven, and funk in five, on the same record as jazz ballads, it could go horribly awry. But, I felt confident we’d be able to do it. I feel like we have a way of tying all those genres together to sound varied without sounding schizophrenic.
How did you choose to record these ten songs of Allen’s?
We wanted to be aware to not do anything that was overly done. Some of the tunes we chose had been done a lot, but we wanted to do those in a way that was different. Knowing that Allen played Snug Harbor a lot, which is kind of our home base, and he loved jazz, we felt like we wanted to venture in some of those directions a little bit in a way that he might not necessarily venture into himself, but that he would appreciate. He was an appreciator of all different kinds of music; all different angles and approaches. I wanted to pay respect to his compositions, but put our own spin on them in a way that he would have really dug.
Can you tell me about “The Beat?” How did that essentially new Allen Toussaint song come about?
“The Beat” was a poem Allen wrote. I think we got a copy of it from Reggie Toussaint. We said, “Let’s try to compose music to go along with it as a spoken word. We’ll have Cyril Neville do it as a spoken word.” So, that is what we did. We just kind of rolled with it. I thought it was a cool idea.
Is there more from the sessions than these ten songs?
The answer is no. We didn’t record anything extra. We put so much effort into each song—horn overdubs, vocal overdubs—so it was very time-intensive. Going in, we didn’t have a lot of time booked for our own record. We heard about Allen’s passing with not much time before going into the studio (to work on that Trio record) when we decided (instead) to do this tribute. It was very collaborative, very much a team effort, but we didn’t have a lot of time to prepare. We didn’t want to record a bunch of extra stuff. We focused on ten tunes and making them the best they could absolutely could be.
As a piano player, how did Allen and his songs lend themselves to be interpreted by you as a drummer?
People, in general, are drawn to Allen’s music because the compositions are so amazing, but they are also very rhythmic. Coming from New Orleans, from his background, a strong rhythmic element is always present drawing not just me, but a lot of people. That lends itself to me being able to put my spin on it because there is so much to work with there. Also, “With You in Mind,” on that song I wasn’t trying to think drumistically at all. That’s a jazz ballad with brushes. I was trying to support the melody and not necessarily think of beats but of textures.
How will this album’s material figure into live shows?
The plan is to start doing some dates. We’re working towards that; to figure out when to do that around the Galactic schedule.
Can you tell me about how you landed some of the guests on the record?
To be honest, it was fairly easy because living in New Orleans we have such great talent to pick from. David Torkanowsky has said living in New Orleans is like living within the greatest musical toy box, though I prefer to say toolbox. We have these tools at our disposal. Once we decided we wanted horns, we thought, who do we call? Well, you start off calling people like Nicholas Payton, Donald Harrison, and Trombone Shorty. You know? It’s pretty remarkable. Then, some of the other horn players we called were Eric “Benny” Bloom, Mark Mullins, and Skerik. For percussion, we’re calling Mike Dillon. For vocals, let’s call Cyril Neville for a tune, maybe two, and that went so well, it’s like, what are you doing tomorrow? Maceo Parker I had done a tour with and he’s always been one of my favorites. We got Maceo when he came down for Jazz Fest.
New Orleans musicians have often served as almost cultural ambassadors for the city when they travel around the world. How important was Allen as a cultural ambassador for New Orleans?
Culturally, Allen would take the things he grew up being influenced by—like Professor Longhair, Dr. John, Mardi Gras Indians, brass bands—these things would be present in his music. Then, he would write tunes for people who would take these things to other parts of the country and other parts of the world. He’s written for people like the Pointer Sisters, and horn arrangements for The Band. After Katrina he worked with Elvis Costello. Whether subtle or overt the influence of New Orleans is in his music. Whether or not the general public is aware of Allen Toussaint or not, they have heard his music and been affected by it.
I think a lot of people would put you in that category as a New Orleans ambassador. Is that fair to say?
I’m comfortable with that. I love where I’m from and I love the music from here. There is just so much to draw from. Obviously the funk and more rhythmic stuff that made a name for myself for the first 20 years of my career. Now, doing some of the jazz side of the spectrum. And there’s Pepper Keenan, who’s gotten me on Corrosion of Conformity, which is heavy stuff. Playing with Irma Thomas, and all of The Meters—all the different things I’ve been able to do. It’s an unbelievably diverse musical city. You can never reach the end of what’s possible. So, I’m always trying to learn and shed and practice and develop and grow.
The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina brought a lot of immediate attention to the region. What’s your diagnosis of any lingering effects over a decade later?
It’s always a case-to-case basis as to how many people have been affected and in what way. Me, personally, I had several rental properties at the time and they all flooded. It was a nightmare. I eventually sold everything. It changed my approach on how I live my life. I don’t ever want to go through anything like that ever again. The crime in New Orleans has really swollen up, worse than it has been in a long time. Statistically you can back that up. Shamarr Allen, he’ll say, “Man, I’ve been telling you that if we didn’t do something for the kids that were children at the time of Katrina—give them music programs or community programs—you are going to see these kids get to 18 years-old and you’re going to see a spike in crime.” And that is what we’re seeing: the Katrina effect on crime.
What about the future of that Trio record you intended to make?
I don’t know. I haven’t decided yet. To be honest, it’s like, “What do you do after this record? “
