[Dixielandjazz] Allen Toussaint and "The Bright Mississippi"

[Gary Kiser]

I too am an Alain Toussaint fan.  He just had some good airplay on NPR :

Allen Toussaint's The Bright Mississippi Band: Live At The Village 
Vanguard - May 20, 2009
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104254284  (1 hour 
26 minutes)

Allen Toussaint's Keys To New Orleans - April 30, 2009
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103649294

Good listening, Gary

Gary Kiser
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Stephen G Barbone wrote:
> Has anyone else heard this record, "The Bright Mississippi", 
> Toussaint's first "jazz" album? I love it but then, I am not your 
> usual traddie. Songs on it include what he calls re-imaginations of:
>
> Morton's  "Winin Boy Blues", Bechet's "Egyptian Fantasy", 
> Oliver/Armstrong's "West End Blues", plus "Just A Closer Walk With 
> Thee", "St James Infirmary Blues". "Singing The Blues", etc. Then just 
> to confuse us, the title track "Bright Mississippi" is a Thelonious 
> Monk adaptation of "Sweet Georgia Brown".
>
> But what I really wonder about is why Toussaint chooses to make a 
> Dixieland album. What does he know about the popularity of the genre 
> that most of us don't? <grin> BTW, here's the last comment of the All 
> About Jazz review:
>
> "To paraphrase producer Henry, the CD is loaded with performances of 
> classic songs that sound both completely fresh and entirely familiar."
>
>
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
> www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband
>
>
>
> Allen Toussaint reinvents Dixieland
> June 9, 11:38 PM ·
> From Examiner.com
> The legendary producer, arranger, songwriter, pianist, singer, and 
> studio owner has come up with a classic recording in The Bright 
> Mississippi. Mixing traditional New Orleans piano jazz with a very 
> contemporary feel, this spectacular disc sounds almost sui generis. It 
> helps to have some of the smartest younger jazz musicians on board 
> such as Don Byron (clarinet), Nicholas Payton (trumpet), Marc Ribot 
> (guitar), with guests Brad Mehldau (piano) and Joshua Redman (tenor 
> saxophone), who play with taste and passion.
>
> But it’s the leader who sets the tone. Drawing upon five decades as a 
> mover and shaker in the vibrant New Orleans music scene, Toussaint 
> gets everything exactly right. The first thing one notices is the 
> sultry mood that pervades this session. But unlike lesser Crescent 
> City jazzers, Toussaint evokes the steamy South through subtlety and 
> nuance rather than bombast: The Big Easy has seldom sounded this 
> relaxed yet rigorous. The sparseness of the arrangements also stand 
> out. Indeed, the music is almost stripped to its bare essentials. It 
> takes a rare genius to risk paring things this close to the bone. 
> Don’t be fooled either by the leisurely pace. Some of the tunes are 
> taken so slow as to almost provoke drowsiness in listeners were they 
> played by lesser musicians, but these players, true masters, reveal 
> the deepest heart of the music.
>
> In the interest of full disclosure, this reviewer admits to never 
> having much liked New Orleans music, be it Dr. John, the Meters, or 
> The Preservation Hall Jazz Band. But The Bright Mississippi changes 
> all that. The Japanese have a phrase for it: “Things gone right.” And 
> everything certainly sounds exactly right on this wonderful recording.