Customer Reviews

Groove Alchemy

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4 star:		(1)
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As if I didn't already know it, I must say that Stanton Moore, Robert Walter, and Will Bernard have some serious chemistry. This trio, that has also appeared on Stanton's CD III and other projects, moves very well together, and this disc is no exception. Intended to be a tour of funk drumming's history, Stanton makes sure that many different types of grooves, from old New Orleans swingin' ones to fatback syncopated ones, are represented here.

The songs are great. Two favorites of mine are the first two tracks. Squash Blossom is a slightly swinging forceful mid-tempo song. Pie-Eyed Manic is so syncopated that I almost dare you to find where beat 1 actually is! It is guaranteed to get your neck and hips shaking. Keep on Gwine is an ultra-slow New Orleans number reminiscent of something out of a speak-easy, but MAN it grooves! Up to Here is a mid-tempo, powerful, shuffle you'd hear in a Texas Road House. Neeps and Tatties is all Meters. And that is only, I think, half the songs.

The playing is fantastic. Walter's syncopated organ lines really gel with Moore's booming bass and snare. Will Bernard is as versatile as ever, comfortable playing slide guitar as he is getting jazzy. For an album by a drummer, Moore does not hog much of the spotlight by way of solos, which is (as a drummer myself) as it should be. He earns attention just by grooving. There aren't many who can groove like he.

So, if you like funk, you really need to hear this album. It is every bit as good as III and Will Bernard's latest Blue Plate Special. These grooves are solid!

Yet another amazing, groove-laden set from Stanton Moore, Will Bernard and (the incredible) Robert Walter. If you don't tap your foot and bob your head to every track on this album, just take yourself straight to the morgue... 'cause you're a goner.

Groove Alchemy the CD is only one part of Groove Alchemy, the larger project that comes with a DVD and instructional book. The project takes drummers and those interested in funk drumming inside Stanton Moore's process of developing grooves, and the CD presents those grooves in action. The drummers who infuenced him the most are James Brown drummers Jabo Starks and Clyde Stubblefeld, and the Meters' Zigaboo Modeliste; not surprisingly, most of the tracks on Groove Alchemy draw from Brown and the Meters' traditions.

The relative lack of concept means that there's not a lot of news on the album, but it's also Moore, Robert Walter and Will Bernard at their most relaxed. As a result, it's also Moore's trio at its most straightforward and funky. The closest thing to a curveball is a dirge-like version of George Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," led by Walter's organ. Walter switches to the piano for a version of James Booker's "Keep on Gwine," but the track's more about Moore's loping version of a second line groove than about Walter's dexterity.

Those tracks are the exceptions, though. Groove Alchemy's funky, and because it's part of an educational project, it's not showy. Instead, the trio is modeling how effortless a well-played groove can sound and how effective it can be with sympathetic players.--OffBeat Magazine, April 2010 issue

If you bought this you should already be listening to Galactic and Garage a Trois and know that Stanton Moore is an amazing drummer. Awesome guitar and the Hammond organ makes this Jazz Fusion album amazing. Look up the definition/history of Alchemy and apply it to music and it is what you have here. Musical philosophy.

No sense in wasting anyone's time with a lengthy review. If you are a drummer and you don't own this DVD, you are like a carpenter without a hammer. That's it!!!

Thanks to the other reviewers and my thirst for great music this was a fantastic find. Like all good music my ears had to get use to something different. Three piece organ trios (Soulive,Niacin) can get repetitive and wear out quickly. Not with these guys. The grooves are deep and everyone plays together. Being a drummer since drums were inventive (Yea seems that long)Stanton is right on,making it funky, in the pocket and adds that spice to keep it movin and grovin.
Made the mistake of playing it in my office and s o u l y forgot about work. Hey Stanton how bout # 2?

I have all three of the Stanton Moore Trio CD's, and this one is the best. Funky and well-played, this CD should appeal to fans of groove and bands like Soulive. All three musicians play quite well, and the tunes are interesting. I will play this one often.