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Montreal International Jazz Festival 2010: Allen Toussaint at Theatre Jean-Duceppe of Place des Arts; July

By BERNARD PERUSSE TUE, JUL 6 2010 COMMENTS(0) WORDS & MUSIC

There was a wonderful moment during Allen Toussaint's superb concert at Theatre Jean-Duceppe of Place des Arts last night. With only clarinetist Don Byron on stage with him for Just a Closer Walk With Thee, Toussaint seemed to marvel at Byron's wonderfully melodic playing. When Byron had completed a particularly satisfying lick, Toussaint looked slyly over at the audience, grinned and raised his eyebrows. He seemed to be saying "Aren't we all lucky to be here listening to this?"

Were we ever! Toussaint continued to claim ownership of the jazz festival's closing days with a very different show from his magical one-man journey at the Gesu Sunday night. Showcasing his brilliant album of jazz standards, The Bright Mississippi, Toussaint was supported by the same astonishing group of musicians that backed him on the album --- a retro term he proudly reclaimed.

Apart from Byron, who played "everything with a reed," in Toussaint's words, Nicholas Payton blew trumpet, Herman Lebeaux sat behind the drum kit, David Pilch laid it down on bass and Marc Ribot handled the guitar work. The five top-notch players blended marvelously, with Toussaint's piano licks keeping a New Orleans flavour locked into these well-loved compositions. If anything, it was even more engaging live than it is on the disc.

Proving that the tone of a show can make a huge difference to the audience reaction. Toussaint gave the band a break and reprised the previous night's musical Tourette's extended solo, with its snippets of everything from show tunes to classical evergreens and R&B. At the more lighthearted Gesu concert, the crowd chuckled and had a great time with it. Last night being a less talkative, more serious affair, they sat in hushed admiration and waited until it was over to voice approval.

Toussaint's long story about visiting his family in the country, with Southern Nights as the foundation, was also flown in from the Sunday night show. And it was just as charming the second time, if a little jarring within the Bright Mississippi context.

"I don't take this for granted," Toussaint assured the audience, referring to the enthusiastic reaction.

Nor do we.

--- Bernard Perusse --

Jimmy Buffet's Free Gulf Coast Concert

Jimmy Buffett, seen in New York in May, has announced a free beachside concert in Alabama to help raise the spirits of Gulf Coast residents.

Breaking News

Due to the pending threat of Hurricane Alex the Gulf Coast Benefit Concert has been postponed until July 11, 2010. For those not lucky enough to have gotten tickets to this great and worthy cause concert, be sure to check it out on the CMT Network.

Previous Details:

Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett has announced a free concert next week to show his support for the Gulf Coast and to boost the mood of residents.

Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band will perform a free show on the beach at Gulf Shores on the Alabama coast on July 1, he announced on his website on the weekend.

Other performers slated to join the Margaritaville singer onstage so far include Allen Toussaint, the Zac Brown Band, Kenny Chesney, Sonny Landreth and Jesse Winchester.

According to the statement on Buffett's site, the concert is meant to "demonstrate support for the people, businesses and culture of the Gulf Coast."

The free show will also be broadcast live on CMT.

Alabama tourism officials have also pledged support for the concert, which is being held the same day Buffett's Margaritaville Beach Hotel is scheduled to open on Pensacola Beach, Fla.

Other fundraising events have been held to support relief efforts for victims of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, including the late-May benefit concert Gulf Aid, which saw Lenny Kravitz, Mos Def, Toussaint and Dr. John take the stage in New Orleans.

Allen Toussaint in HBO Series "TREME"

Catch Allen Toussaint in the New HBO series "TREME". From David Simon, creator of "The Wire" and Generation Kill", and Eric Overmyer, writer-producer of"homicide" and "Law & Order", the debut series "Treme" is set in post-Katrina New Orleans, chronicling the rebuilding of a unique America culture after historic devastation. "Treme" refers to one of New Orleans' oldest neighborhoods, an historically important source of African-American music and culture. Allen Toussaint appears in several episodes and the music of the Souther Knights is also featured through out the series.

Allen Toussaint with Cyndi Lauper 0n Letterman

Be Sure to check Allen Toussaint performing with Cyndi Lauper on the Late Show with David Letterman on Monday Night, June 14.

Austin City Limits Appearance

Allen Toussaint, 2010 GRAMMY nominee, To Be Featured On Austin City Limits and Spectacle with Elvis Costello Allen Toussaint—after finding his 2009 Nonesuch debut, The Bright Mississippi, on several year's best lists from publications around the world—is set to make his long-awaited debut on the PBS series Austin City Limits this Saturday, January 9. The hour-long episode kicks off a string of new shows for the award-winning concert series. “The musical and artistic magic that lives in the soul of the great American tradition of Austin City Limits certainly reached into the depths of the New Orleans soul with it's truly historic hosting of New Orleans greatest modern musical icon, Allen Toussaint,” said Quint Davis, producer and director of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival about the upcoming show. “

An intensely personal and quietly introspective musical genius on every level—performer, master musician, composer, writer, arranger, producer—there is rarely a view to the inside where his deepest creative wellsprings originate,” Davis continued. “In his Austin City Limits experience, Allen opened up as never before on film, and visited all of the magical places that make him so gifted and so special. Never to my knowledge, has there been such a complete visitation to the musical universe that is Allen Toussaint, as happened on that storied Austin stage, on that very special day.” In this episode, which is part of ACL’s 35th anniversary season, Toussaint and his band perform interpretations of jazz classics from The Bright Mississippi, a Grammy nominee, as well as beloved Toussaint originals like “Working in the Coalmine” and “Southern Nights.” For more information on the program and to find it on a PBS station near you, visit austincitylimits.org.