Stanton Moore will release his first straight-ahead jazz record, Conversations, om April 15 via Royal Potato Family. The album finds the Galactic drummer reutrning to his roots while augmented by pianist David Torkanowsky and bassist James Singleton.

Moore and his new trio will present the work of Conversation during an upcomign residency New Orleans’ Snug Harbor this April (on the first three Tuesdays of that month) before celebrating the album’s release with a performance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 1. Additional tour dates will also be announced in the near future.

“I’ve played a lot of jazz in New Orleans through the years, but it’s not something that the general public has ever seen me do or is even aware of,” Moore says. “Jazz has been part of my development and a deep love of mine for a long time. Everything I do funk and groove-wise is informed by what I’ve learned playing and studying jazz. I had put myself through what was basically a doctoral program on funk drumming, and I wanted to do the same thing with my jazz playing.”

All but one of the album’s 11 tracks were written by composers from New Orleans, including James Black, Tony Dagradi, Steve Masakowski and Evan Christopher (the only exception is a rendition of Herbie Hancock’s “Driftin”).