Porter Batiste Stoltz are something of a New Orleans supergroup, consisting of three veteran musicians who worked as sidemen for decades before coming together in the trio. Bass player George Porter, Jr., joined the Meters in 1965. Over the years, he played on recording sessions with local performers such as Allen Toussaint, Earl King, Lee Dorsey, and Johnny Adams as well as such national and international acts as Paul McCartney, Jimmy Buffett, David Byrne, Patti LaBelle, Robbie Robertson, and Tori Amos. Drummer Russell Batiste, Jr., the son of New Orleans musician David Batiste, began playing drums at age four. His sessions include work with Robertson, Harry Connick, Jr., Champion Jack Dupree, and Maceo Parker. In 1989, he joined Porter in the Funky Meters, the successor to the Meters. His band Orkestra from da Hood released the album The Clinic. Guitarist Brian Stoltz was a member of the Neville Brothers and has done sessions with Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Daniel Lanois, Dr. John, Edie Brickell, and Linda Ronstadt. As a solo artist, he has worked as a singer/songwriter, releasing the albums East of Rampart Street and God, Guns & Money. He joined Porter and Batiste in the Funky Meters. When Art Neville, another member of the Funky Meters, left the group to rejoin the Neville Brothers, Porter, Batiste, and Stoltz determined to strike out on their own. The initial result was the debut Porter Batiste Stoltz album Expanding the Funkin' Universe, released in 2005. On November 2, 2007, at the Club Metronome in Burlington, VT, they recorded their second album, MOODOO, with former Phish keyboard player Page McConnell sitting in. The album was released September 30, 2008. ~ William Ruhlmann