Little Animal!
Featuring:
Morgan Moore - Composer, Producer, bass, synths, electronic FX
Joe Grass - pedal steel and electronic FX
Dr. Lex French - Jazz Trumpeter
Tommy Crane - drums
Little Animal! is a group of Montreal musicians who cross the boundaries of jazz and electronica. The group is led by bassist Morgan Moore (The Barr Brothers, Martha Wainwright, Yannick Rieu, Ranee Lee, James Gelfand, Dawn Tyler Watson) who is the co-founder of MIRROR MIRROR and Black Legary.
For the last two decades, Morgan has been travelling the world playing bass. More recently, he has been composing and producing cutting-edge electronic music. In 2021, he was approached by Jim West of Justin Time Records to create an album that unites electronic music with the live fire of jazz.
Morgan called upon notorious musicians to collaborate and the chemistry and beauty of their work is undeniable.
Little Animal! is Joe Grass (Patrick Watson, Elisapie) on pedal steel, Tommy Crane (Aaron Parks, Melissa Aldana) on drums, and Lex French (Christine Jensen, CODE Quartet, Diana Krall) on trumpet with Morgan Moore on bass. Together they create anthemic melodies, virtuosic improvisations, and mind-bending grooves. When they integrate with the lush landscape of Morgan’s electronic creations the result is a sound that leaves us all inspired and wanting more.
This unique music makes the listener explore the relationship between humans and technology: our addiction to it, our dependence on it… and our aversion to it. Jazz is an art form that epitomizes human expression in its spontaneous creation. We feel the sweat, and the tears of our existence through its boundless improvisations. There are moments when listening to Little Animal! where we feel the players are almost fighting the electronic sounds, and there are sections where they exist in utter harmony. The constant tug and pull between human and machine begs the question: Does technology control us or do we control it?
The band followed up a spring residency at Montreal music venue Ursa with their first appearance in July 2022 at the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal with more Canadian dates to follow in 2023.
Their debut eponymous release (out now) is gearing up to make waves in the jazz and avant-garde music scenes around the world.