Album review: Jean Toussaint Allstar 6tet – Live at The Jazz Café (Lyte Records)

Jean Toussaint (tenor sax); Dennis Rollins (trombone); Byron Wallen (trumpet); Andrew McCormack (piano); Daniel Casimir (bass); Williams Cumberbatch Perez (percussion); Shaney Forbes (drums)

This is a strange one. I noticed it on its release in 2019 and added it to my ‘git list’ of albums to look out for. Then it disappeared and turned up again online at a silly price on the big river. Then, on my last visit to that big fancy London a couple of months back, it was up for £12 in Ray’s Jazz in Foyles. A quick flash of plastic and it was in the bag. Then I was prompted by an e-mail from them at Sage Gateshead to flash the plastic again and book for Toussaint’s visit there on November 26 so I thought I’d give it another whirl and pass on my thoughts.

The first thing that strikes me about the album is the supporting cast that Toussaint has assembled around him. Rollins, Wallen and McCormack are all established bandleaders in their own right with some great albums to their names. Casimir is a star of the current young London scene and has played on a number of albums by the leading lights of that scene as well as recording under his own name. Shaney Forbes is, of course, the drummer in Empirical, another fine outfit. Only Perez’s name was new to me.

It’s an album of high quality bebop, as you might expect from someone with Toussaint’s history, both as a member of the latter day Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, in his group Nazaire and under his own name. Despite working in a genre that had its high watermark in the 1960s this is not an historical recreation. All the songs buzz with life and they all get a good working over and are allowed to breathe and develop.  There are 7 tunes across 2 CDs ranging between nine and nineteen minutes long. It was recorded at the Jazz Café when Toussaint was promoting his album Brother Ray which was tribute to Ray Charles, (reviewed by Lance Here ) though only 3 of the tunes are from that album, namely Amabo, Doc and Major Changes.

As you would expect, it’s a lovely, joyous, full, swinging sound when the seven musicians (Toussaint AND the 6tet) are in full flow.  There are moments of subtlety too, especially during Doc’s series of solos when each steps up in turn (metaphorically for the pianist and drummer) and the others support them, building back up to a fuller sound though even, that, on Doc is muted.

This is a good, but not great album. It has one foot in the past and one eye on the future, which I appreciate may require a level of contortionism beyond me. If you have bebop in your address this will be right up your street. It even closes with Bobby Timmons’ Moanin’.

Toussaint is at Sage Gateshead on November 26 to promote his new album Jean Toussaint: Songs for Sisters Brothers and others and his band will include: Jonathan Gee - piano, Mutale Chashi - bass, and Shaney Forbes – drums. Dave Sayer