This past weekend, I traveled to Aspen, Colorado for the 7908' Aspen Songwriters Festival. A festival presented by the city of Aspen and John Oates, and held at the beautiful Wheeler Opera House. I had the opportunity to hear some songwriters that I hadn't heard before; Jeff Black, Mason Reed, Jill Andrews, Reed Waddle, Gary Burr & Mike Rayburn. There were also several songwriters that I was familiar with; Jim Lauderdale, Suzi Ragsdale, Richard Butler, David Bromberg, Sam Bush, Jimmy Wayne, Tift Merritt, The Bird & Bee, Garfunkel & Oates, Jeff Barry, Allen Toussaint and the host- John Oates.
I enjoyed everyone who performed during the festival- however, one really stood out: ALLEN TOUSSAINT. His performance was the best I have ever seen. I overheard several of the performers from the festival saying the same thing. I walked up to John Oates after the show and all either of us could say was, "WOW!" Ran into Jimmy Wayne at the hotel later that night and he was still in a daze from the performance. He looked at me and I just said, "I know, I know!" It was just an amazing night. And one I won't forget.
He gave us the backstory on the songs and the famous artists that covered them. Each song and story seemed to flow into the next. He was able to do what only a great performer can do- he made us feel like we were part of the show. About 2/3 of the way into his performance he brought out Sam Bush and John Oates for a medley of "Get Out Of My Life Woman" and "Working In The Coalmine." Three different musicians from three different genres, yet it worked like a charm. For the intro to "Southern Nights" he told a wonderful story about growing up in Louisiana and going out to the country to visit with his relatives. While playing piano underneath it all. It was such a fascinating and descriptive story that if you closed your eyes, you could see all the people he was talking about. The show ended with a standing ovation, followed by an encore and another ovation.
In addition to being a great musician/songwriter/storyteller... he's a very gracious man. I was lucky enough to hang out with him before and after the show. We talked about his latest album, "The Bright Mississippi", his appearance on Austin City Limits and a few other things. He treated me like he'd known me his whole life. He smiled, told stories and posed for pictures with everyone there.
Allen Toussaint is a music legend. Yet, there are a lot of people who don't know him. He's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the great songs he's written, many of which have been performed by well known artists, and for the numerous albums he's produced. Yet, I enjoyed hearing him sing those songs. And he's just the tastiest piano player I've ever heard. If you fall into that group of people that don't know him- PLEASE check him out:
ALLEN TOUSSAINT on the web: http://www.allentoussaint.com/
And do yourself a favor- google the other artists I mentioned. They were all fantastic.
Photos by T. Mathley
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