We will never stop thinking about the late Allen Toussaint who has left an indelible
imprint on the history of music for eternity. Let’s take a look at the times that preceded
him, that he lived in, the present, and the future.
Born in the birthplace of jazz immediately provided the backdrop for Toussaint’s
musical life. Music was everywhere in the city decades and centuries prior to his birth.
In schools, churches, nightclubs, and on the street the rhythms were played and heard.
His instrument of choice, the piano, was important in the development of jazz in all
of those places except in the street. The sheer size of a piano discounted it as being
a mainstay in a marching brass band. This did not prevent it for being included in
orchestras on the steamboats, in Storyville parlors, school classrooms, or churches. The
early jazz composers Jelly Roll Morton, and Tony Jackson were renowned pianists.
The piano, specifically the upright player piano, was an entertainment piece, and the
primary instrument of musical instruction and song composition. The player piano with
its rolls did not need an instrumentalist to entertain those in one’s house or business
establishment. The role of the piano is important when taking into account that even
in teaching voice, it is the instrument used most often for this task. Since its invention,
probably more songs and musical pieces have been composed on it than on any other
instrument. It is easily adapted by a singer/song writer.
Toussaint put his fingers on a keyboard with the dexterity of his predecessors Jackson,
and Morton. His close contemporaries, Tuts Washington, Professor Longhair, and Fats
Domino all evolved from that gumbo of music, jazz, that has gospel, spirituals, ragtime,
rhythm and blues blended into that distinct New Orleans sound. He came along just as
rhythm and blues was being incorporated into rock and roll, and he was central in the
transformation of those sounds into soul and funk. As has been noted, only later did he
engage himself as a performer of his hits written for many others, and of tunes he wrote
for Allen Toussaint.
Toussaint lived at a time when music was a part of the curriculum of the public school
system in New Orleans from kindergarten through high school. As these programs have
been reduced due to education budget cuts, students of music have had to find other
means to learn their craft. High schools with the arts have arisen, independent programs
and workshops have helped fill the void, and there is instruction available on the internet.
For the eager, there is no lack of learning opportunities. There is the assumption that a
traditional studio, with live musicians, singers, engineers, technicians, and producers
during Toussaint’s prolific period are no longer a necessity. That may be true since the
dawn of the personal computer, but the human interaction that existed in the studio is
important in the life of the next great New Orleans composer. Toussaint left a challenge
for someone to assume.
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