• > Home
  • > Artists
  • > Allen Toussaint
  • > Albums
  • > The Bright Mississippi

    • Allen Toussaint

    Allen Toussaint

    The Bright Mississippi

    Allen Toussaint - The Bright Mississippi

    04/21/2009 | Nonesuch 

    Submit Your Review
    Bookmark and Share

    All Music Guide Review

    The Bright Mississippi stands alone among Allen Toussaint albums. Technically, it is not his first jazz album, for in 2005 he released Going Places on the small CD Baby-distributed Captivating Recording Technologies, a label run by his son Reginald, but for most intents and purposes -- and for most listeners -- The Bright Mississippi might as well be his first foray into jazz, since it's the first to get a major-label production and release as it's a de facto sequel to Toussaint's successful, high-profile, 2006 duet album with Elvis Costello, The River in Reverse. Like that record, The Bright Mississippi is produced by Joe Henry, who has a knack for a sound that's clean yet soulful, one that lets the music breathe but still has heft to it. Henry teams Toussaint with a cast of heavy hitters -- including clarinetist Don Byron, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, guitarist Marc Ribot and, on a track a piece, pianist Brad Mehldau and saxophonist Joshua Redman -- to support the pianist on a run through jazz standards ranging from Duke Ellington and Django Reinhardt to Louis Armstrong and Thelonious Monk, whose 1963 classic provides the album its title. Everybody has a little bit where they shine, but this is thoroughly Toussaint's showcase, a place where he can ease back and string together New Orleans jazz and R&B in his own elegant fashion. And what impresses most about Bright Mississippi is that although straight-out jazz is uncommon in Toussaint's work, this neither feels unfamiliar or like a stretch. His signature runs and smooth grooves can be heard throughout the album, but the relaxed nature of the sessions makes it easier than ever to hear what an idiosyncratic, inventive instrumentalist he is, and that is a quality that's more evident upon repeated plays. Upon the first listen, The Bright Mississippi merely seems like a joyous good time, but subsequent spins focus attention on just how rich and multi-layered this wonderful music is. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

    The Bright Mississippi Track Listing

  • Track#
  • Title
  • time
  • lyrics
  • 1
  • Egyptian Fantasy
  • 4:39

  • 2
  • Dear Old Southland
  • 6:19

  • 3
  • St. James Infirmary
  • 3:51

  • 4
  • Singin' the Blues
  • 5:40

  • 5
  • Winin' Boy Blues
  • 6:41

  • 6
  • West End Blues
  • 3:51

  • 7
  • Blue Drag
  • 4:21

  • 8
  • Just a Closer Walk with Thee
  • 5:10

  • 9
  • Bright Mississippi
  • 5:07

  • 10
  • Day Dream
  • 5:27

  • 11
  • Long, Long Journey
  • 4:50

  • 12
  • Solitude
  • 5:31

    • The Bright Mississippi Notes

    On The Bright Mississippi, his Nonesuch debut, Toussaint continues to break new ground with his first jazz-oriented set, displaying the same effortless swing and relaxed charm he brought to his classic rock and roll sides. He salutes Big Easy stars of a previous generation, the jazz greats who, in the early 20th century, built the genre from the ground up and turned the ears of the world to New Orleans.

    Backed by an all-star combo that sounds like a group of old friends, Toussaint reinterprets classic jazz and blues tunes popularized or written by such New Orleans greats as Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Jelly Roll Morton and Joe "King" Oliver, as well as pieces composed by fellow travelers Django Reinhardt, Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. He accedes the producer's chair to trusted friend Joe Henry, who sat behind the board for Toussaint's contributions to Our New Orleans, Nonesuch Records' best-selling 2005 benefit disc aiding hurricane victims on the Gulf Coast. Henry also produced The River In Reverse, Toussaint's 2006 post-Katrina collaboration with Elvis Costello. Henry assembled a decidedly non-traditional band of backing players for The Bright Mississippi, assuring a fresh take on such venerable tunes as "West End Blues," "St. James Infirmary," and "Dear Old Southland." Joining Toussaint for four days of sessions at Manhattan's Avatar Studio were guitarist Marc Ribot, bassist David Piltch, clarinetist Don Byron, trumpeter Nicholas Payton and drummer Jay Bellerose. Nonesuch label-mates Brad Mehldau (piano) and Joshua Redman (saxophone) stopped by for one tune each.

    "It was wonderful," says Toussaint of these convivial sessions. "Everything is live, of course. This isn't the kind of assembly line music where somebody put the wheels on here and somebody put the top on there. Everything got done at the same time, so everybody fed on each other, their personality and tonality."

    Credits of The Bright Mississippi

    Similar Albums to The Bright Mississippi



    What's Hot from ARTISTdirect