All Eyes Out For You

Treme (Sundays, 9pm CDT on HBO)

Don't know if you've caught the new David Simon (The Wire) series on HBO, but Treme is an interesting look at the citizens of New Orleans who struggled during the months after Hurricane Katrina.  A huge part of the show focuses attention on the struggling local musicians who try to get back on their feet along with the city.

Patrick Jarenwattananon and Josh Jackson have had an ongoing post-show email exchange after each episode over at NPR, including the most recent Episode Three: Playing For That Money.  It's an interesting chat, and I've really been enjoying the show (though it's hard to tell where it's headed).

For reasons that are pretty obvious, this past week's episode reminded me of this short photo essay I shot during a 2008 trip to New Orleans.

BTW, Episode Two featured Allen Toussaint and Elvis Costello recreating the recording of River In Reverse, which was indeed partially recorded in New Orleans very shortly after Katrina.  Alas, it's totally unrealistic because producer Joe Henry is nowhere to be seen.

Best Albums of 2009: #5 Allen Toussaint - 'The Bright Mississippi'

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.

New Allen Toussaint (produced by Joe Henry) due in April

We knew this one was coming, but Allen Toussaint's new record The Bright Mississippi - produced by Joe Henry and assisted by his excellent usual musical collaborators - will be released by Nonesuch on April 21.  Details here.