Allen Toussaint and Trombone Shorty will be featured participants in the nationally televised NBA All-Star game on TNT Sunday, February 17th. Trombone Shorty will perform during the player introductions along with Branford Marsalis, Kermit Ruffins and Rebirth Brass Band. Allen Toussaint will perform at half time as part of an all star lineup of keyboardists also featuring Harry Connick, Jr. and his band with Dr. John, Davell Crawford, Art Neville, Ivan Neville, Jonathan Batiste and Ellis Marsalis. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band will perform throughout the television special on the preceding day which will include the 3-Point Challenge, Slam Dunk competition and skills challenge. The NBA All-Star Game begins at 8 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. Pacific) at New Orleans Arena. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Allen Toussaint and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue are all touring throughout 2008. - see tour dates >>
Allen Toussaint's "Yes We Can Can" will be featured in the documentary Young at Heart by filmmaker Stephen Walker. Young At Heart is based on an elderly singing group performing rock tunes. "Yes We Can Can" performed by the chorus is a group favorite says singer Steve Martin, "That song typifies who we are, that even at our average age at 78, we can exude that kind of energy." The documentary has been nominated for several awards in 2007. Allen Toussaint will be touring troughout 2008. - see tour dates >>
Bettye LaVette, Mavis Staples And More Rosebud Artists Recognized In Village Voice Pazz & Jop Poll Rosebud artists Bettye LaVette and Mavis Staples scored spots in the top 35 of Village Voice's annual "Pazz & Jop Poll" for LaVettes Scene Of The Crime and Staples We'll Never Turn Back. The annual poll combines ballots from 577 critics Top 10 lists to acknowledge the best albums of 2007. Additional Rosebud artists whose CDs were honored were Bill Frisell (for his work with Floratone and with Paul Motian and Joe Lovano) Loudon Wainwright III, Meshell Ndegeocello, Ruthie Foster, Pieta Brown, Ann Savoy and the late Muddy Waters. Compilations that featured Rosebud artists were Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur (Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars), Goin Home: A Tribute To Fats Domino (Allen Toussaint, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Trombone Shorty and Marcia Ball) and Song Of America (The Blind Boys of Alabama and Bettye LaVette). See the full list of albums at: Village Voice's annual "Pazz & Jop Poll" >> Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino featuring Allen Toussaint, Marcia Ball, Trombone Shorty and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band out September 25
Allen Toussaint Honored By BBC, Touring U.K. And Europe
Allen Toussaint Honored as Best Pianist and for Album of the Year / Toussaint Songs Featured on Harry Connick Jr. CD
Bill Frisell was named Best Guitarist for the fourth year in a row (and seventh in 10 years) in Downbeat's Critics Poll. Several frequent Frisell collaborators were also honored: Sam Yahel was on top in the Rising Star Organ category and Jenny Scheinman was named #1 Rising Star Violin, while producer (and Frisell manager) Lee Townsend, drummers Brian Blade and Joey Baron, and violinist Eyvind Kang were among the honorees in their respective categories. Bettye LaVette and Charlie Musselwhite both placed in the top 10 for Blues Artist/Group, and Tommy Castro was among the Rising Star Blues Artist/Group honorees. The Blues Album category included J.J. Cale & Eric Claptons "The Road To Escondido" as well as Musselwhites "Delta Hardware". Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaints "The River In Reverse" and Richard Thompsons "The Life And Music Of Richard Thompson" were honored in the Beyond Album category. Congratulations to all the honorees!
Allen Toussaint appears in the new IMAX Theatre film Hurricane On The Bayou from the producers of Everest. Shot in the midst of Katrina and narrated by Meryl Streep, the film makes the call to restore the vital wetlands of Louisiana and give New Orleans hope for the future. Allen Toussaint, Amanda Shaw, Chubby Carrier and Marva Wright are featured in a passionate performance of a resonant modern hymn (written by the films composer Steve Wood) in the oldest Cathedral in North America, New Orleans elegant St. Louis Cathedral. The films release will be accompanied by a soundtrack featuring another Rosebud artist, Mavis Staples, as well as Aaron Neville, Dr. John, Fats Domino, The Rebirth Brass Band and Zydeco Force. Hurricane On The Bayou opens nationwide on December 22. Allen Toussaint is also featured with Elvis Costello on their DVD, Hot As A Pistol, Keen As A Blade (Hip-O/UMe), released December 5, 2006, which captures a live performance from their co-bill tour last summer highlighting songs from the album, The River in Reverse, as well as Costello gems spanning four decades, from Watching The Detectives and Pump It Up to lesser-known songs, most of them given special arrangements by Toussaint.
The 49th annual Grammy nominations were announced with Rosebud artists Allen Toussaint, Duke Robillard and Ann Savoy honored in the Pop, Blues and Folk categories, respectively. Allen Toussaint received a nomination in the Best Pop Vocal Album category for his collaboration with Elvis Costello on The River in Reverse, a project created in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's devastation to Toussaint's hometown. Duke Robillard received the first Grammy nomination of his career for his latest CD Guitar Groove-A-Rama in the Best Traditional Blues Album category. Ann Savoy from The Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band was recognized for her collaboration with ten-time Grammy winner Linda Ronstadt in the Best Traditional Folk Album category for Adieu False Heart. Congratulations also to Gary Paczosa, engineer of the CD who was nominated for Best Engineered Album. In addition, Booker T. Jones will be honored with a Lifetime Grammy Achievement Award for his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame career with Booker T. & the MG's. The Grammys will air on CBS onFebruary 11, 2007.
Amazon.com has released their annual picks for Best Music of the Year and Rosebud artists Allen Toussaint, J.J. Cale, Ann Savoy, Charlie Musselwhite and Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars are among those honored. Allen Toussaint's CD The River In Reverse with Elvis Costello was recognized in the Top 100 Editor's Picks list. J.J. Cale & Eric Clapton's The Road To Escondido appears as #37 on the Customer's Top 100 list. Charlie Musselwhite's Delta Hardware was recognized as the #1 CD of the year in the Blues category, while Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars debut CD Living Like A Refugee was selected as the #4 CD of the year in the International category. Ann Savoy of The Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band appears twice in both the Customer's Top 100 list and #3 in the Folk category for her CD Adieu False Heart with Linda Ronstadt. Congratulations to all. For more information and to purchase CDs, please visit Amazon's Best Music of 2006 >>.
Allen Toussaint was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Producer/Engineer at the Americana Music Awards. The award was presented by Elvis Costello who cited Toussaint's classic recordings with artists such as Irma Thomas, Ernie K-Doe, Chris Kenner, The Band and LaBelle. Costello and Toussaint capped off the event by performing a track from their album The River in Reverse before leading the crowd in a gospel sing-along and a version of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind." Other stars performers included Dave Alvin, Rosanne Cash, Alejandro Escovedo and Ruthie Foster.
The New Orleans Saints returned to the Superdome with a nationally televised grand celebration in which Rosebud artists Allen Toussaint and The Dirty Dozen's Gregory Davis were highly visible. Gregory lead a group of brass musicians to the foot of the stage, preceding a performance by U2 and Green Day. U2's Bono even name dropped Allen Toussaint in the lyric to "Beautiful Day". Later, the national anthem was performed by legendary New Orleans icons Irma Thomas and Allen Toussaint.
Allen Toussaint and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band are among the all-star cast of the DVD "From The Big Apple to The Big Easy" which documents the benefit concert of the same name held in New York City in September 20, 2005. Allen Toussaint is featured performing solo on Southern Nights and with Cyndi Lauper on Last Train/I Know (You Dont Want Me No More). In addition he shares the stage with and provides accompaniment to Art Neville, Lenny Kravitz, Elvis Costello, Clarence Frogman Henry, Jimmy Buffett, Aaron Neville, Cyril Neville and Irma Thomas. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band are featured in performances with Elvis Costello and Dave Bartholomew, Diana Krall with Troy Andrews and Kermit Ruffins. Later, they join The Neville Brothers, The Meters and others in a show closing performance of When the Saints Go Marching In. Charlie Musselwhite also performed with Tom Waits at Radio City Music Hall the same evening in a simultaneous show benefiting the same cause. The live concerts raised nearly 9 million dollars for hurricane relief efforts and 100% of the proceeds from this DVD will go toward continuing those efforts. Rhino: "From The Big Apple to The Big Easy" DVD >>
The Rosebud Agency is proud to announce the signing of New Orleans' legendary producer, pianist, writer, arranger and singer, Allen Toussaint, for exclusive worldwide booking representation. Toussaint has collaborated with, produced, or had his songs covered by artists as diverse as The Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt, The Band, Paul Simon, The Meters, Joe Cocker, Dr. John and now Elvis Costello among many more. Allen and Elvis are just finishing a tour in support of their hit CD collaboration, The River In Reverse. Toussaint has rarely toured in the past but he plans to change that now and we're eager to accommodate.
Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint's spirited and deeply soulful new album, including seven songs from Toussaint's remarkable catalog; five newly written by the two; and one new song, the title track, written by Costello. Sessions for the album took place over a whirlwind two weeks late last year in Hollywood, CA and at Piety Street Studios in Toussaint's hometown of New Orleans. Produced by Joe Henry, the album masterfully combines Costello's band The Imposters with Toussaint's horn section (Amadee Castenell, Joe Smith, Sam Williams and Brian Cayolle) and guitarist (Anthony Brown). ...more on Verve Forcast >> The River In Reverse at Amazon.com >> |