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Allen Toussaint: Connected
ByAfter kicking off the disc on piano on "Pure Uncut Love" and "Do the Do," Toussaint switches to an aptly-deployed Fender Rhodes for "Computer Lady." Highlights of the disc: the deep blues of "Get Out of My Life, Woman," featuring trademark chunky unison horns and his insinuating blues piano, and "Sweet Dreams," a sparkling ballad featuring Tricia Boutté on additional vocals. "Funky Bars" consists of a lot of them. Any funk fan will not go away unhappy from this track, or from the disc in general: "All of It" is both the name of a particularly funky track and the answer to the question, "How much of this disc has soul?" Toussaint plays well with contrasts: from the high register superfunky beginning to "Ahya", to the rumbling yearning of "If I Leave." He even dips into the Caribbean on "Aign Nyee."
All in all, a solid return from Toussaint, and, one hopes, the forerunner of many more yet to come.
Personnel
Allen Toussaint
pianoCollective Dave Bartholomew, Stacy Cole, Jamil Sharif: trumpet; Edward Reed, Brian Cayolle: baritone sax; Fred Kemp, Amadee Castenell: tenor sax; Gary Brown: alto sax and tenor sax; Allen Toussaint: piano, Fender Rhodes, synthesizer, vocals; Sammy Berfect: organ; J.R. Branch: synthesizer; Scott Goudea, Leo Nocentelli: guitar; Chris Severin, Roland Guerin: bass; Bernard "Bunchy" Johnson, Russell Batiste, Herman Lebeaux: drums; Bill Summers, Clarence "Reginald" Toussaint: percussion; Tricia Boutte, Suzanne Bonseigneur, Ed Roussell, Tomika Goffner, Tanya Elllsworth, Terri De Gruy: background vocals.
Album information
Title: Connected | Year Released: 1998 | Record Label: NYNO
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