Stanton Moore Trio / Charlie Hunter Trio

The Stanton Moore Trio with Will Bernard (guitar) & Wil Blades (organ) guarantees a high energy deep in the groove performance that will blow the lid off Antone's in a rare one-off performance on Saturday June 16, 2012.

The Stanton Moore Trio is arguably one of the tightest, most original and accomplished funk/rock/jazz organ trios in the world. The melodies will have you humming the next day as you remember the unique rhythm transitions that built on the next - delving between peaks and valleys until they crescendo and at the end of the end you thought "what the heck just happened?!

It is all about the players:

Stanton Moore – drummer, educator and founding member of immensely popular New Orleans' band Galactic, originally started his trio with Robert Walter (Greyboy Allstars, 20th Congress) & Will Bernard. Following the trio's 2008 release of III, Modern Drummer called Moore's trademark sound "infectious, jazz-meets-Bonham, nouveau second-line." Next up was Emphasis! (on parenthesis) and then Groove Alchemy. This band is for real. Since the release of these albums Moore has attracted organist Wil Blades to join in the tour rotation with Walter and you will see why.

Will Bernard - guitarist and Grammy nominated jazz composer is a brain-child, songwriter and groove-maker behind this trio. Bernard when not performing with his band The Will Bernard Trio, is a mainstay performer and entertainer with T.J. Kirk & Dr. Lonnie Smith. Of late we witnessed Will Bernard's on-stage performances with the likes of Greyboy Allstars and Medeski Martin & Wood at their festival appearances. Will Bernard is a force to be reckoned with and it wasn't surprising to see these bands pick him to share the stage. His high energy on-stage presence has evolved – he kills it, brings it home and puts it on the table….

Wil Blades - organist and controller of the 400 pound beast the Hammond B3, Wil Blades adds brilliance to the trio songs with his footwork on the bass pedals. His left handed bass with utterly amazing melodic improvisation brings a fresh in-the-pocket contribution to this band. Wil Blades is notably the Bay Area's best - now not-so-secret musical genius. Recently joining with Billy Martin (Medeski Martin & Wood), the Martin/Blades Duo is on the jam scene and touring this summer. We are lucky to have Wil Blades perform with this Stanton Moore Trio Austin Texas one-off.

Supporting the Stanton Moore Trio are Austin local groove purveyors of funk and soul: Flyjack and Boogaloo who will get this party started for what is sure to be a performance of the summer. Go to www.funkybatz.com for performance details and advance tickets. For more information or interviews contact Barbara Prashner, FunkyBatz at 512-633-9560 or [email protected]


After nearly 20 years of recording, it's remarkable how much ground Charlie Hunter has covered. Rising out of the Bay Area jazz scene with a freakish virtuosity on a custom eight-string guitar that allowed him to play bass and melody lines simultaneously, Hunter performed at Lollapalooza in 1993 and released the first of six albums for Blue Note in 1995. Since then he's recorded with musicians that include drummer Leon Parker, vibraphonist Stefon Harris and Norah Jones, who sang on two tracks for Hunter's 2001 album "Songs From the Analog Playground."

Often lumped in with the so-called "jam band" crowd after earning a following on the festival circuit, Hunter's music isn't so easy to pigeonhole. Having touched on elements of soul-jazz, reggae and boisterous funk-rock in the past, Hunter recently set aside electronics for a cleaner tone well-suited for a 2010 solo album of classic covers chosen by his 100-year-old grandfather aptly called "Public Domain."