Allen Toussaint’s last full-length album, American Tunes, will be released on June 10 via Nonesuch Records.
The New Orleans icon, who passed away last November, recorded the album over the course of two sessions with producer Joe Henry. The first, a solo piano endeavor, took place at Toussaint’s home studio in 2013.
The second session, which saw Toussaint working with a rhythm section of Jay Bellerose and David Pitch, went down in Los Angeles in October of 2015. That final session featured guest appearances by guitarist Bill Frisell, tenor saxophonist Charles Lloyd, multi-instrumentalist Greg Leisz, singer (and banjo/violin master) Rhiannon Giddens, and composer/arranger/pianist Van Dyke Parks.
According to a press release from Nonesuch, American Tunes consists of solo renditions of Professor Longhair classics, as well as full band arrangements of tunes by Toussaint, Duke Ellington, Paul Simon, Fats Waller, New Orleans-born classical music pioneer Louis Moreau Gottschalk and others.
American Tunes is now available for pre-order, and the album’s take on Earl King’s “Big Chief” can be heard below. A two-LP vinyl version of the record will also be released on June 10, and will include three bonus tracks.
As previously reported, Toussaint died of after suffering heart attack in Madrid on November 10, 2015. His likeness will appear on the cover of the OffBeat’s forthcoming 2016 Jazz Fest Bible, and numerous artists will pay tribute to his music during a special show at this year’s fest.
American Tunes tracklist:
“Delores’ Boyfriend” (Allen Toussaint)
“Viper’s Drag” (Thomas “Fats” Waller)
“Confessin’ (That I Love You)” (Doc Dougherty, Ellis Reynolds & Al Neinurg)
“Mardi Gras in New Orleans” (Professor Longhair)
“Lotus Blossom” (Professor Longhair)
“Waltz For Debby” (Bill Evans)
“Big Chief” (Earl King)
“Rocks In My Bed” (Duke Ellington)
“Danza, Op. 33” (Louis Moreau Gottschalk)
“Hey Little Girl” (Professor Longhair)
“Rosetta” (Earl Hines)
“Come Sunday” (Duke Ellington)
“Southern Nights” (Allen Toussaint)
“American Tune” (Paul Simon)
