Allen Toussaint - American Tunes

The Guardian 80

(Nonesuch)

His final studio album proves an affecting swansong from the late New Orleans composer, producer, pianist and legend. Here Toussaint treats jazz classics by Fats Waller, Billy Strayhorn, Bill Evans and others to his intricate yet funky piano skills, much as he did on 2009’s The Bright Mississippi. Rhiannon Giddens adds muscular vocals to a brace of Duke Ellington tunes, but it’s mostly a low-key, instrumental affair. Toussaint’s hero, Professor Longhair, is twice honoured, his rollicking piano replicated on Hey Little Girl, and teased into neoclassicism on Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Toussaint was no great singer but his version of American Tune – one of Paul Simon’s finest pieces – is heartfelt, weary but triumphant.

Pitchfork 72

American Tunes is a posthumous album from Allen Toussaint, who, though he had a six decade-long musical career, began his work as a regular touring live performer began in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina claimed most of his possessions and his recording studio in its destructive wake. Toussaint’s responsible for infusing the syncopated pianos of ragtime jazz and boom-bap style swing into New Orleans funk and rock, but his just-released collection does not necessarily reflect that level of innovation. However it highlights the iconic musical pioneer’s ability to lightly repurpose some of his favorite and most well-worn influences into his distinctive style. Whether re-imagining the work of piano boogie-loving New Orleans zydeco kingpin Professor Longhair, examining the melodies of jazz great Duke Ellington, or digging into his own canon via an instrumental redux of country star Glen Campbell’s Toussaint-written 1977 hit “Southern Nights,” American Tunes highlights Toussaint’s skill more as a pure musician, regardless of genre.

His live performances tended to veer discursively through his recording and production career, stopping to add re-interpretations of songs made popular by artists who served as his creative inspirations. However, it’s in Toussaint’s ability to weave his smartly appointed piano funk through the entire album that creates the tie that binds this disparate collection together. In less capable hands, Glen Campbell’s aforementioned country classic placed next to Rhiannon Giddens’ take on Ella Fitzgerald’s wistful “Rocks In My Bed” and a solo piano version of Professor Longhair’s swinging N’Awlins romp “Big Chief” would be three individual moments. However, there’s a virtuoso here weaving this all together, and it unfolds with the smooth inevitability of cocktail-party conversation.

Professor Longhair was often noted as one of Toussaint’s personal heroes, and the true highlight of American Tunes is his version of Longhair’s “Big Chief,” which builds as expected and then pivots from major-key euphoria into minor key-driven malaise. “Southern Nights” transforms here from a thumping soul-country groove into an orchestral-style pop number bearing a similarity to Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag.”

The most discordant moment on the album is it’s closing and titular single. In 1975, Paul Simon sang “American Tune,” offering a folk-meets-soul take on a style similar to 1971’s “You’ve Got A Friend.” 2016’s “American Tune” is almost an afterthought, as guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Jay Bellerose’s work is more showcased than that of the album’s lead artist. While the song is spare and hopeful in vibe, it’s at minimum “just” excellent.

Somewhere in the poly-stylistic Venn diagram that birthed Allen Toussaint’s vibrant and diverse musical catalog lie the spirits of Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Glen Campbell, Professor Longhair and more. When combining those influences alongside modern era virtuosos like Bill Frisell, Rhiannon Giddens, Van Dyke Parks and others, something pleasantly expected emerges. A step left of center yet still striking familiar chords right on time, Allen Toussaint show us his understated brilliance one final time.