Well you won't have to worry - I'll be there for you.
Genius. But you knew that...
The good news finally came Tuesday night.
"Why don't you call this number tomorrow afternoon and I'll patch you through to Mr. Toussaint in New York," said his assistant, who I'd been rescheduling with on an almost every-other-day basis for the last two weeks.
Sure enough, Wednesday I was patched through to Toussaint in New York, who speaks in a slow, deliberate manner with a "just enough" tinge of a N'awlins accent. He's been there for the most part since Katrina hit in 2005 and destroyed his home, but his heart and efforts to help the Crescent City have remained down there - not only with a number of fund-raising benefit shows, but also through contributions to musical projects like Our New Orleans and last year's collaboration with Elvis Costello, the critically-acclaimed The River in Reverse.
"Working with Elvis was highlight of my life," Toussaint said, sending me reeling. After all... this is a guy who's shared the studio with everyone from Professor Longhair to Lee Dorsey, Paul McCartney to Dr. John, Patti LaBelle to Etta James and almost everyone inbetween. So... really?! DECLAN?!
"He's a scholar," Toussaint said. "And he's still a student. He's always developing his skills and finesse. He's wide awake, knowledgable and is always, always in tune. If he focused on one thing - lyrics, guitar playing... he'd be an absolute master. But he wants to learn all of it."
But of course, he doesn't downplay his work with others, either. Working with Paul McCartney on 1975's Venus and Mars was "Monumental. He truly is all of what you'd perceive him to be in terms of talent. There's a lot of talent, love and care in that man. No frills. He knows how to get to what he wants and he knows when he arrives." Patti LaBelle, meanwhile, "shocked all of us when she came in to do 'Lady Marmalade' with the electricity she brought," and although only working alongside Professor Longhair briefly, "I always feel some 'Fess whenever I'm playin'."
I mentioned it before, of course, but when you think of New Orleans music, it's next to impossible not to think of Toussaint - if not for his own work, then at least for something he's had a hand in. The guy's shaped some of the most memorable measures of music over the last 40-odd years, but he's been working toward that goal for as long as he can remember.
"How long have I wanted to be involved in music?" he laughs, repeating my question as if I'm really dumb enough to have ever believed there might have been something else he wanted to do with his life. "From the very age of consciousness I've wanted to play. When I was very young, I could mimic things off the radio on the piano, and I just never wanted to do anything else.
"Anyone who liked to sing liked having me around, because I could play anything. I remember being a teenager and having people at this studio ask me to come in and be their musician. It took me all of about... oh... two seconds to say 'YES!'"
Toussaint cut his teeth in the 1960s as a songwriter and producer (alongside a brief stint in the military from 1963 - 1965), and in the 1970s, finally started to get some of his own stuff into the mainstream with fantastic albums like From a Whisper to a Scream, Life Love and Faith and Southern Nights (the latter of which was the subject of a fantastic writeup this past weekend by the good folks over at swoon).
While each of the albums are chock full of classic tracks, Toussaint again blew me away by suggesting that if it were up to him, those albums may have never existed.
"Every solo album I've ever done, I've only done because someone's asked me," he said. "It's weird to be at the front. It's out of my comfort zone. I like leading the band, writing the different parts and seeing how the music goes along."
So you never would've just thought to do an album by yourself?
"No," he said, and I could literally feel him shaking his head. "Oh no."
One of Toussaint's most storied solo albums is 1978's Motion, which found him not only out of New Orleans and recording in Los Angeles, but also under the supervision of another producer, Jerry Wexler. Given his earlier comments, I thought this would be ever further out of his comfort zone.
"It was wonderful," he said. Of course. "Jerry brought together the best of everything he could conjure up in terms of musicians and sounds. It was kind of unusual to be in that role, but he wasn't like a dictator, I thought it went great."
The record was an attempt by Warner Brothers to make some money on Toussaint's name in a starring role instead of as a producer, songwriter or arranger, and ultimately, it flopped, but does contain some great tracks if you ever get a chance to hear it.
The last album to bear his name in a solo starring spot was 1996's Connected, which also features some fantastic tracks, but didn't make much of a dent on the mainstream market. Fortunately, though, The River in Reverse did, and it's afforded his an amount of popularity that means people outside New Orleans are finally getting the chance to see Toussaint live.
"It's not really a tour, but I've played a few dates over the course of the season, so I guess you could kind of look at it that way," he said. "I haven't played outside of New Orleans much, so it's actually quite a dramatic thing for me."
Toussaint plays the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee on Feb. 17. Be there.
Here are some picks for your ears from the man himself...
His favorite song by another artist...
Gilbert O'Sullivan - Alone Again (Naturally)
Believe it or not, the face of New Orleans music and everything jazz, funk, blues and pop absolutely loves the 1972 lament from Irish singer/songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan. "The organization of that song is just incredible. It's so well done. It's heartbreaking, but it's so beautiful," Toussaint said. Can be found on any number of Greatest Hits comps.
One of the favorite records he's worked on...
Dr. John - Right Place, Wrong Time
Toussaint produced the In the Right Place album, and played a number of instruments on it, including on this key cut from it. "That was such a fun album to do," he said. "All of us came from the same place and we were all playing together. I loved playing that - it felt so much at home. That's what the album should've been called, really... 'So Much at Home.'"
And here's a pick from yours truly.
Allen Toussaint - Do the Do
It teeters on the edge of silliness/tweeness, and almost begs Mountain Dew for a commercial rewrite, but if the sincerity of Toussaint's vocal and the song's arrangment don't get you, then his piano chops definitely will. Like his old compatriot once said, "Some people wanna fill the world with silly love songs... and what's wrong with that?" From 1996's Connected.
"Why don't you call this number tomorrow afternoon and I'll patch you through to Mr. Toussaint in New York," said his assistant, who I'd been rescheduling with on an almost every-other-day basis for the last two weeks.
Sure enough, Wednesday I was patched through to Toussaint in New York, who speaks in a slow, deliberate manner with a "just enough" tinge of a N'awlins accent. He's been there for the most part since Katrina hit in 2005 and destroyed his home, but his heart and efforts to help the Crescent City have remained down there - not only with a number of fund-raising benefit shows, but also through contributions to musical projects like Our New Orleans and last year's collaboration with Elvis Costello, the critically-acclaimed The River in Reverse.
"Working with Elvis was highlight of my life," Toussaint said, sending me reeling. After all... this is a guy who's shared the studio with everyone from Professor Longhair to Lee Dorsey, Paul McCartney to Dr. John, Patti LaBelle to Etta James and almost everyone inbetween. So... really?! DECLAN?!
"He's a scholar," Toussaint said. "And he's still a student. He's always developing his skills and finesse. He's wide awake, knowledgable and is always, always in tune. If he focused on one thing - lyrics, guitar playing... he'd be an absolute master. But he wants to learn all of it."
But of course, he doesn't downplay his work with others, either. Working with Paul McCartney on 1975's Venus and Mars was "Monumental. He truly is all of what you'd perceive him to be in terms of talent. There's a lot of talent, love and care in that man. No frills. He knows how to get to what he wants and he knows when he arrives." Patti LaBelle, meanwhile, "shocked all of us when she came in to do 'Lady Marmalade' with the electricity she brought," and although only working alongside Professor Longhair briefly, "I always feel some 'Fess whenever I'm playin'."
I mentioned it before, of course, but when you think of New Orleans music, it's next to impossible not to think of Toussaint - if not for his own work, then at least for something he's had a hand in. The guy's shaped some of the most memorable measures of music over the last 40-odd years, but he's been working toward that goal for as long as he can remember.
"How long have I wanted to be involved in music?" he laughs, repeating my question as if I'm really dumb enough to have ever believed there might have been something else he wanted to do with his life. "From the very age of consciousness I've wanted to play. When I was very young, I could mimic things off the radio on the piano, and I just never wanted to do anything else.
"Anyone who liked to sing liked having me around, because I could play anything. I remember being a teenager and having people at this studio ask me to come in and be their musician. It took me all of about... oh... two seconds to say 'YES!'"
Toussaint cut his teeth in the 1960s as a songwriter and producer (alongside a brief stint in the military from 1963 - 1965), and in the 1970s, finally started to get some of his own stuff into the mainstream with fantastic albums like From a Whisper to a Scream, Life Love and Faith and Southern Nights (the latter of which was the subject of a fantastic writeup this past weekend by the good folks over at swoon).
While each of the albums are chock full of classic tracks, Toussaint again blew me away by suggesting that if it were up to him, those albums may have never existed.
"Every solo album I've ever done, I've only done because someone's asked me," he said. "It's weird to be at the front. It's out of my comfort zone. I like leading the band, writing the different parts and seeing how the music goes along."
So you never would've just thought to do an album by yourself?
"No," he said, and I could literally feel him shaking his head. "Oh no."
One of Toussaint's most storied solo albums is 1978's Motion, which found him not only out of New Orleans and recording in Los Angeles, but also under the supervision of another producer, Jerry Wexler. Given his earlier comments, I thought this would be ever further out of his comfort zone.
"It was wonderful," he said. Of course. "Jerry brought together the best of everything he could conjure up in terms of musicians and sounds. It was kind of unusual to be in that role, but he wasn't like a dictator, I thought it went great."
The record was an attempt by Warner Brothers to make some money on Toussaint's name in a starring role instead of as a producer, songwriter or arranger, and ultimately, it flopped, but does contain some great tracks if you ever get a chance to hear it.
The last album to bear his name in a solo starring spot was 1996's Connected, which also features some fantastic tracks, but didn't make much of a dent on the mainstream market. Fortunately, though, The River in Reverse did, and it's afforded his an amount of popularity that means people outside New Orleans are finally getting the chance to see Toussaint live.
"It's not really a tour, but I've played a few dates over the course of the season, so I guess you could kind of look at it that way," he said. "I haven't played outside of New Orleans much, so it's actually quite a dramatic thing for me."
Toussaint plays the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee on Feb. 17. Be there.
Here are some picks for your ears from the man himself...
His favorite song by another artist...
Gilbert O'Sullivan - Alone Again (Naturally)
Believe it or not, the face of New Orleans music and everything jazz, funk, blues and pop absolutely loves the 1972 lament from Irish singer/songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan. "The organization of that song is just incredible. It's so well done. It's heartbreaking, but it's so beautiful," Toussaint said. Can be found on any number of Greatest Hits comps.
One of the favorite records he's worked on...
Dr. John - Right Place, Wrong Time
Toussaint produced the In the Right Place album, and played a number of instruments on it, including on this key cut from it. "That was such a fun album to do," he said. "All of us came from the same place and we were all playing together. I loved playing that - it felt so much at home. That's what the album should've been called, really... 'So Much at Home.'"
And here's a pick from yours truly.
Allen Toussaint - Do the Do
It teeters on the edge of silliness/tweeness, and almost begs Mountain Dew for a commercial rewrite, but if the sincerity of Toussaint's vocal and the song's arrangment don't get you, then his piano chops definitely will. Like his old compatriot once said, "Some people wanna fill the world with silly love songs... and what's wrong with that?" From 1996's Connected.
Labels: Allen Toussaint
posted by Paul at 1.2.07
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home