Jazz Articles

Jean Toussaint's Nazaire: The Street Above the Underground

by Ronan Abayawickrema
November 1, 2000

With The Street Above the Underground London-based saxophonist Jean Toussaint seems to be seeking to emulate T.S.Monk’s recent success in fusing jazz with smooth sounds and pop elements and coming up with something that sounds nothing like Kenny G. Like Monk’s excellent 1999 release Crosstalk, Toussaint’s music has an urbane, polished feel, but has far too much bite to be described as ‘smooth jazz’. Indeed, while Monk updated his sextet’s sound with electronic drums and the occasional synthesizer wash, and ...