Expanded Edition of 'Our New Orleans' Benefit Album coming up

From Nonesuch records :

A remastered, expanded edition of the 2005 record Our New Orleans will be released for the first time on vinyl on January 29, 2021, available to pre-order here. The two-LP set, also available then digitally, includes five previously unreleased tracks: “Do You Know What It Means,” by Davell Crawford; “Let's Work Together,” by Buckwheat Zydeco and Ry Cooder; “Crescent City Serenade,” by Dr. Michael White; “Walking By the River,” by Dr. John; and “Do You Know What It Means,” by The Wardell Quezergue Orchestra featuring Donald Harrison.

“Our New Orleans is a testament to the power of music to heal and provide a sense of community,” said Marguerite Oestreicher, Executive Director of New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity. “Musicians helped the city heal after Hurricane Katrina, and Musicians’ Village helped them come home. We’re grateful to Nonesuch and everyone who worked on this album. 

 

Joe Henry prooduced songs for this record by 'Allen Toussaint', 'Irma Thomas' & 'The Dirty Dozen brassband' .

Looking Back : Elvis Costello and Joe Henry

Over the last 15 years, Elvis Costello and Joe Henry have had some coöperations. I don't know how, and where they first met, but in his Autobiography, Elvis Costello calls Joe his friend.

In 2002, Joe produced Solomon Burke's album Don't give up on me. Elvis Costello wrote the song The judgement, together with Cait O'Riordan.
In that same year, Joe was opening act for a few Elvis Costello concerts.

1 Year later, Elvis Costello received the ASCAP founders award.

ASCAP's Founders Award honors pioneering songwriters who have made exceptional contributions to music.  Before Elvis, some Founders Award recipients include James Taylor, Burt Bacharach & Hal David, Stevie Wonder, Tom Waits, Joni Mitchell, Leiber & Stoller, Quincy Jones and Walter Becker and Donald Fagen,...

During that celebration, Joe was bandleader for the special EC tribute concert. The band consisted of: 

Joe Henry : Guitar

Pete Thomas : Drums

Patrick Warren : Piano

David Piltch : Bass

Elvis Costello himself was 1 of the guest artists, but also Solomon Burke, who performed 'The Judgement'. 

2 years later, they found each other again. In December 2005 The album 'The river in reverse' was recorded. An album from Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint produced by Joe. The album was made in the afterdays of Hurricane Katrina. Allen Toussaint was 1 of the many who lost everything. Together with Elvis Costello he made this album to remember everything that was going on in New Orleans. At the same time, the album acknowledged Allen Toussaint worldwide ! Outside of New Orleans, not a lot of people knew Toussaint as the man behind all the great music he made in his career.

Fast forward to 2013 : On April 30 'a tribute to Allen Toussaint' was held. It honored Toussaint's 75th birthday, and benefited the charity organisation NOAAHH (New Orleans Artists, Against Hunge & Homelessness.

Both Costello and Henry were among the performing Artists (Dr John, Irma Thomas, Cyrille Neville,....)
Joe sang 'From a Whisper to a scream'.

 

Additional Sources :
Unfaithful music and disappearing ink
The Elvis Costello Wiki
ASCAP
NOLA 

American Tunes out today

Today Allen Toussaints final record 'American Tunes' is out on Nonesuch Records.

"When Allen left the studio on the last day of recording, he was buoyant," Henry says. "He was so proud of the work. He made sure that I understood that. He said, 'I'm elated about what's happened.'" ' Parting gift'

In the article 'Parting gift' we learn how, looking back, a lot of these recordings almost didn't happen.


But the following article, is a must-read : music aficionado

I found it so moving to read... It is an interview with Joe about working and being with Allen. It ended with Joe's personal story of hearing the sad news of Allen's passing. I got really quiet after reading that....

Also make sure to check the Joe Henry Blog for more reviews and articles.
And definitely read Josh Hurst's review : Like the stories told of old.



Dear Mr Toussaint : Thank you for your music, You will be missed. 

Oh, and it's alright, it's all right, it's all right
You can't be forever blessed
Still, tomorrow's going to be another working day
And I'm trying to get some rest
That's all I'm trying to get some rest

American Tune, Paul Simon

Releasedate set for Allen Toussaint's final recordings

Last November Allen Toussaint unexpectadly died while on tour in Europe.

He had just finished a recordingsession for a new album, produced by Joe. Today we received more info on that album.

The album, entitled American Tunes, will be released on June 10.



from the pressrelease :

Recording took place at two sets of sessions with producer Joe Henry: solo piano at Toussaint's New Orleans home studio in 2013, and with the rhythm section of Jay Bellerose and David Piltch—joined by guests Bill Frisell, Charles Lloyd, Greg Leisz, Rhiannon Giddens, and Van Dyke Parks—in Los Angeles in October 2015. The album comprises solo performances of Professor Longhair tunes and band arrangements of songs by Toussaint, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Paul Simon, and others.

Let us all keep the memory of him and his music alive.

Allen Toussaint

Oh, how I wish I could write this entry in more cheerful times....

On Monday evening, Allen Toussaint unexpectedly died after a concert in Madrid. I personally received the news in an e-mail. I was going to see his show in Antwerp 3 days later. On tuesday an e-mail popped up entitled "Concert Allen Toussaint canceled". I first thought they canceled the tour because of an illness. How big the shock was reading what had happened. I stopped doing what I was doing, stepped in the car and drove around.......

Rest In Peace Allen Toussaint. Thank you for your music.


Some weeks ago Joe Henry was in the sudio with Allen Toussaint recording a new album. The label (nonesuch records) anounced its release somewhere in 2016.

According to the announcement, the recording "took place at two sets of sessions over the past several years: The first were solo piano recordings made at Toussaint's home studio in New Orleans in 2013, while the second, featuring a core band of musicians with several guest soloists, were completed in Los Angeles in early October 2015."


Joe Henry wrote the following words:

"Joining Allen over four days this past October in a Hollywood studio were the rhythm section of Jay Bellerose and David Piltch joined by other masters of understated invention—guitarist Bill Frisell; legendary tenor saxophonist Charles Lloyd; multi-instrumentalist Greg Leisz; the luminous singer Rhiannon Giddens; and the irrepressible composer/arranger/pianist Van Dyke Parks, who had a long friendship and collaborative relationship with Allen dating back to the early 1970s.
"I have been working with Allen Toussaint—under his spell and subject to his influence—for a full decade now. He was a quiet radical, musically-speaking, and a prince of great humility. In listening to all of the recordings these past days, reeling from the shock of his sudden death, it has meant so much to feel Allen's spirit, vibrant and undiminished. Allen's family, our friends at Nonesuch, and I look forward to sharing the music with the world."

source

Joe producing Allen Toussaint again

Things to look forward to....

In drowned in sound magazine Allen Toussaint talks about working again with Joe Henry.

DiS: Your last studio album The Bright Mississippi came out five years ago. Are there any plans to record a follow-up? Is your writing still as prolific now as it was when you first started out fifty-five years ago?
Allen Toussaint: Oh yes, I'm writing a lot but I must say I've fallen way back on the project with Joe Henry who produced The Bright Mississippi. He's been after me to record the follow-up for a couple of years now. I've gone in and done a few songs for him but I have so many things on the back burner. I put everything before my own product. I've really been lax about doing my own projects but Joe Henry is producing my next record. However it will be quite different to The Bright Mississippi. It won't just be golden standards. Instead it will be more off the beaten path.

DiS: Is there a projected release date for the album?
Allen Toussaint: Well, if it was left up to Joe (Henry) it would have been two years ago! I'm going to try and continue working on it after the New Orleans Jazz Festival. That lasts a fortnight and falls over the last week in April and first week in May. After that, I am planning to return to the Joe Henry project as I think it would be the proper thing to do.

Read the full interview here.