Jazz Articles about Allen Toussaint

Allen Toussaint: Connected

by Robert Spencer
August 1, 1998

Allen Toussaint is back. Let the world know. Connected is his first full-length national release in nearly twenty years, and it is a full resume of the New Orleans institution's many talents. His funky R&B piano is the centerpiece of this disc, which features a host of New Orleans luminaries including Dave Bartholomew on trumpet, Leo Nocentelli on guitar, Russell Batiste on drums, and Amadee Castenell on tenor. In addition to these guest appearances, the tracks feature a cast of ...

Allen Toussaint and Friends: A New Orleans Christmas

by Robert Spencer
August 1, 1998

Allen Toussaint appears on piano and / or keyboards on ten of these thirteen tracks, which are a good representative sampler of the current New Orleans sound. If that doesn't mean anything to you, think of “The Man who Sang with Linda Ronstadt" a few years back. He, of course, doesn't appear here, but the folks who do have the same sound: Heavy danceable grooves with backing vocals behind soulful melisma-laden leads. Raymond Myles' funky “We Three Kings" is a ...

Allen Toussaint: Connected

by Jim Santella
August 1, 1998

With roots in both Gospel and Ragtime, New Orleans singer-pianist Allen Toussaint has assembled an enjoyable session that appeals to a broad audience. From an outsider's point-of-view, Toussaint's ensemble shares that “Crescent City mystique" espoused by Dr. John, The Neville Brothers, The Dirty Dozen & New Birth Brass Bands, and others. While this session combines folk, funk, calypso and rock into one entity, Toussaint's compositions each contain some amount of blues feeling and imagery.

Updating blues double-entendre, Toussaint begins “Computer ...

Allen Toussaint: Connected

by Douglas Payne
August 1, 1998

Connected offers a generous program (62 minutes) of some of the best, most soulful pop that's been heard in the last twenty years. Such style must seem old-fashioned now. No samples, no contrived rhythms, no phony raps and hardly any concessions to contemporary popular music. Stuff this good hasn't been heard since the late 70s when you were sure to hear great Toussaint tunes like Labelle's “Lady Marmalade" (1975) or Glen Cambell's “Southern Nights" (1977) on the radio.

What you ...