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NPR Q&A: Listen to Elvis Costello interview Allen Toussaint

While host Marian McPartland is out, singer-songwriter Elvis Costello sits down with music legend Allen Toussaint in this installment of Piano Jazz. Like Toussaint, Costello has crossed many genres in his career, working with the likes of producer/composer Nick Lowe, trumpet great Chet Baker, legendary songwriter Burt Bacharach and his own wife, jazz pianist and singer Diana Krall.

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Allen Toussaint (left) and Elvis Costello.

Toussaint is one of New Orleans' most revered musicians, working since the late 1950s as an arranger-producer while writing songs like "Working in a Coal Mine," "Southern Nights" and "Ride Your Pony." These days, he performs his music around the world, and even joined Costello to record the 2006 album The River in Reverse. In this session, Costello introduces Toussaint as "a living embodiment of the rich musical heritage of the Crescent City."

Here, Toussaint performs "Mother-in-Law," "Fortune Teller" and a very personal version of "Southern Nights," a hit single for country/pop great Glen Campbell. Toussaint takes the song back to its roots, recalling the nights when his father took him to the country to visit "the old Creole people." Then he brings his New Orleans-born rhythmic and harmonic sensibilities to the standards "Singin' the Blues," a song closely associated with Marian McPartland and her late husband, cornetist Jimmy McPartland.

The lively conversation covers early influences on Toussaint's music: jazz, blues, boogie-woogie, church music and "hillbilly music." Talk changes to the great storm Toussaint calls "the booking agent Katrina." It actually helped him move into a rewarding new phase in his career.

In the final selection, the duo plays a medley of piano legend Professor Longhair's "Tipitina" and the Toussaint-Costello song "Ascension Day." Over Toussaint's rolling, bluesy piano, Costello's lyrics paint an anguished picture of the empty streets they found shortly after Katrina, when they came to New Orleans to finish The River in Reverse. There is hope in the song's ending, though: "But I know they will return / Like they've never gone away / Come Ascension Day."

Originally recorded April 17, 2009. Originally aired Aug. 26, 2009.

In Memory: Lee Dorsey

(originally posted by themusicsover)

Lee Dorsey
December 24, 1924 - December 1, 1986

Lee Dorsey epitomized the loose, easygoing charm of New Orleans R&B perhaps more than any other artist of the ’60s. Working with legendary Crescent City producer/writer Allen Toussaint, Dorsey typically offered good-time party tunes with a playful sense of humor and a loping, funky backbeat. Even if he’s remembered chiefly for the signature hit “Working in a Coalmine,” it was a remarkably consistent and winning combination for the vast majority of his recording career. Dorsey was born in New Orleans on December 24, 1924 (although some sources list 1926), and moved to Portland, OR, at age ten. After serving in the Navy during WWII, Dorsey returned to Portland and became a successful light heavyweight boxer, fighting under the name “Kid Chocolate.” He retired from boxing in 1955 and returned to his birthplace, where he eventually opened a successful auto-body shop. He pursued a singing career by night, and wound up recording singles for several different labels, most of which made little noise (although “Lottie Mo” sold respectably). In 1961, he signed with Bobby Robinson’s Fury label, where he entered the studio with producer Allen Toussaint for the first time. Dorsey’s nonsense ditty “Ya Ya” — reportedly inspired by a children’s rhyme — became his first national hit that year, reaching the pop Top Ten and hitting number one on the R&B charts. Despite its popularity, following it up turned out to be difficult, and with a large family to support, Dorsey returned to his auto repair business after a few more singles flopped. Still, Allen Toussaint loved Dorsey’s voice, and kept him in mind for future sessions. Toussaint’s hunch paid off in 1965 when, signed to the Amy label, Dorsey turned “Ride Your Pony” into a Top Ten R&B hit. The accompanying album of the same name sold respectably as well, and Dorsey began cutting a multitude of Toussaint compositions, often with the legendary New Orleans funk ensemble the Meters as his studio backing band. The New Lee Dorsey was released later in 1966, and supplied Dorsey’s best-known song, the irresistible “Working in a Coalmine” (which he co-wrote with Toussaint). With its clanking sound effects and Dorsey’s comic exclamations, “Working in a Coalmine” became his second Top Ten pop hit and signature song, and Dorsey toured internationally with the Meters backing him up. A few follow-ups, particularly “Holy Cow” and “Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky (From Now On),” met with some success, but Dorsey was once again hard pressed to duplicate his big hit, and once again left music for the practical concern of running his business. 1970’s Yes We Can (on Polydor) was his last album for some time, with the title track becoming his last chart single.

He died in New Orleans on December 1, 1986.