Clint Maedgen: Roussel Maajon

"Roussel Maajon" is the thinly veiled pseudonym of Preservation Hall stalwart, saxophonist/vocalist Clint Maedgen, who is easily identified after a few bars if one is at all familiar with his distinctive voice and energetic music style. And every jazz fan, at least in New Orleans, knows who Roussel is—Kyle Roussel, keyboardist with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Easy enough to dial up on Spotify, Huey 'Piano' Smith concludes on an adjacent iTunes playlist as "Sookie, Sookie" begins, somehow seamlessly complementing the previous blast from the past. Equally inane and reminiscent of the unrestrained frivolity of the carefree 1950s, Roussel's piano solos are as refreshingly light hearted and fun as Smith's recordings once were. Maedgen hit a home run on this one, at least for one brief shining moment of madness, sliding comfortably from the exuberance of, what is now for many, a long past youth to "Sookie Sookie"—a great start for this album..

The next cut, "I Love You So," begins with a pulsating horn section, not unlike the novel incarnation of contemporary sound adopted at Preservation Hall as Maedgen's sassy vocal joins in, belying his deeply planted roots in rock. The horn section, not unsurprisingly, consists of Maedgon's Preservation Hall bandmates—Ronnel Johnson (tuba), Brandon Lewis (trumpet) with another rising star from the renowned Andrews family on trombone, Revon Andrews.

The next cut, "Its Gonna Do What Its Gonna Do," an upbeat vocalist-driven song is toe tapping, engaging and, and for all the right reasons, ultimately compelling. A positive message of unswerving love, it's "gonna do what it's gonna do before life is through," he'll love his woman every day. And Maedgen will continue to "Smile Just a Little Bit" throughout, the title of the next track with an almost naively positive message, somehow a welcome anomaly as the reality of an ever changing world is apparent to all but a very few.

"Rich Man Dreams" features Roussel banging away on the keyboards in a familiar New Orleans style though the melody is anything but. Roussel doubles on piano and organ to create another toe tapping, extremely engaging composition. The partnership with upbeat new music backing up imaginatively clever and heartfelt lyrics penned by Maedgen has a fresh sound, echoing the optimism and exuberance of youth even though Maedgen, as the years slip by, has become increasingly aware that time waits for no one.

With a more fatalistic message and eerily pensive musical mood featured in "Carpe Diem," lyricist Maedgen warns "nothing is promised" while keeping your worries at bay but ends the album with the unequivocally upbeat "Living is a True Celebration," a composition which says it all as the Maedgen / Roussel tandem looks forward to everything life has to offer. Inviting their lucky listeners to join them on a joyous trip into a future though nothing is guaranteed. Jumping on this joyous roller coaster to the stars seems like an appealing option and who, surely, would not want to experience the exhilarating music and philosophically positive perspective shared on this new release?

Comments