New Orleans piano wizard Allen Toussaint has worked as a producer, songwriter, arranger, session pianist and solo artist.  I mainly know him from his work with other artists like Irma Thomas and Lee Dorsey.  Last year he appeared on Down In New Orleans by The Blind Boys Of Alabama.

I had never really investigated his solo work but then I read that my favourite guitarist Marc Ribot plays on his new album The Bright Mississippi.  I'm glad I picked it up because it will probably be the album of the year for any lover of jazz and blues piano.

Produced by Joe Henry it features classic tracks originally recorded by greats like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk.

 

Upon the first listen, The Bright Mississippi merely seems like a joyous good time, but subsequent spins focus attention on just how rich and multi-layered this wonderful music is.     - All Music Guide

Jazz albums don't come much better.     - Mojo

The inspiring combination lifts the album far beyond tribute material into sonic territory all its own.     - Billboard

The applause will only grow louder with the release of The Bright Mississippi. It’s quite simply one of the best albums we’ll hear in 2009.    
- Dusted Magazine

Allen Toussaint’s The Bright Mississippi offers a look backward at our music’s roots, but it does so with a keen consciousness of both modern jazz and rhythm-and-blues.     - PopMatters