To call Allen Toussaint a "jazz" artist is to severely underestimate what makes Toussaint such a treasure. Very little on his resume - as a producer, performer, arranger or songwriter - would pigeonhole him as such, but a New Orleans-flavored instrumental effort is bound to get stuck with the jazz label. But if jazz is but one influence that courses through The Bright Mississippi, it is joined by elements of blues and pop standards and, most importantly, an adherence to melody over technique at every possible turn.
Joe Henry has plenty of "legacy artists" under his belt as a producer, but never before has he helped an artist redefine his own legacy to quite this extent. One or two critics even complained that giving Toussaint only one vocal turn and ignoring his own songbook amounted to a missed opportunity. But how can one feel that way when the music on display is so full of vigor and spirit? It is to Toussaint's great credit that he felt at ease allowing his first solo effort in some time to be such an unexpected turn. Of course, that is no doubt the result of an artist who is equally at ease with his own legacy and not burdened by the weight of making a career-defining statement with one record.
Hopefully, what that means is that we'll continue to hear more Allen Toussaint albums for years to come and that each of those will be at least half as revelatory as The Bright Mississippi.
