From the German-based
Bear Family Records
reissue label comes over two-dozen selections by a young
Allen Toussaint
(piano) during his earliest outings as a solo artist -- albeit under the slightly truncated nom de plume of "A. Tousan" or simply "Tousan." Although he'd been gigging and sitting in on a variety of Crescent City
R&B
sessions, it was
RCA Records
'
Danny Kessler
who took the initiative to book studio time for
Toussaint
. That very first endeavor -- held on January 29, 1958 -- featured
supported by other Nola locals
Alvin "Red" Taylor
(baritone sax),
Nat Perrilliat
(tenor sax), or
Lee Allen
(tenor sax), either
Justin Adams
(guitar) or
Roy Montrell
(guitar),
Frank Fields
(bass), and
Charles "Hungry" Williams
(drums). While the exact lineup may not be certain, what is undeniable is the masterful energy of these seminal sides.
revealed to a reviewer that he "had no involvement in the titles of the songs. When I played them, I referred to them as 'Song Number One,' 'Song Number Two' and so on. It wasn't until the record came out that I was informed
Kessler
had chosen to name each piece after a different racehorse." Once
"Whirlaway"
b/w the raucous sacred-inspired
"Happy Times"
scored favorable results,
hit
up for enough material to compile what would become the full-length
Wild Sound of New Orleans
(1958) LP. Arguably the best-known of the instrumental lot is the perky
"Java"
-- which
Al Hirt
(trumpet) was able to take to the top of the
pop
singles survey, not to mention carve out a nice career for himself in the process. Other entries worthy of multiple spins include the mile-a-minute
"Tim Tam,"
"Bono,"
and the musical Mardi Gras that is
"Nashua"
-- which owes much to
Professor Longhair
and points the way for
's future musical aspirations. Similarly,
"Wham Tousan"
and
"Pelican Parade"
are evidence of
's already fully formed keyboard style. The second half of the
Complete "Tousan" Sessions
(1992) is dedicated to tracks destined for the
Seville
imprint and credited to "Al Tousan and His Piano." Of the 15 tunes documented during the December 7 and 8, 1959 session only a handful were ever released. Namely, the 45s
"Chico"
b/w
"Sweetie Pie,"
"Naomi"
"Back Home Again in Indiana"
-- a rare cover tune for
,
"A Blue Mood"
"Moo Moo"
(aka
"Cow Cow Boogie"
), and
"Real Churchy"
"Twenty Years Later."
Interestingly, the latter is nothing more than a recycled and abbreviated edit of the aforementioned
"Sweetie Pie."
The remainder make their debut and in true
Bear Family
style are thoroughly annotated in the 20-page liner notes booklet. ~ Lindsay Planer