Allen Toussaint is one of those musicians you may have never heard of but you know his work. His collaborations run from Patti LaBelle and Otis Redding to The O’Jays and The Rolling Stones. He wrote the Grammy nominated song, “Southern Lights”, famously sung by country singer, Glen Campbell. Recently he did an album with Elvis Costello and even appeared with Cyndi Lauper on David Letterman. Songwriter, producer, musician, there isn’t a facet or genre Toussaint hasn’t touched in his forty years in the business, but what drew my attention was an album he released a couple years ago, “The Bright Mississippi.”
Even though the name references the next door neighbor, Toussaint pays tribute to the musicians of New Orleans like Jelly Roll Morton, Sydney Bechet, King Oliver and the other king, Louis Armstrong. The songs may have been played a thousand times by many others, but Toussaint somehow, “…has transfixed himself on an old and yellowing map and by doing so conjured it to be a living, changing landscape.” So says Joe Henry in the liner notes.
If you don’t know much about jazz, I can think of no better introduction. I especially like Toussaint’s interpretation of “St. James Infirmary”, a traditional dirge of a funeral march, but he picks a pace between a skip and a strut. If he’s off to a funeral, he’s promising a good time. What more can you say about New Orleans?
Dave
