Sometimes art makes for strange bedfellows.
Such appeared to be the case in 2006 when British new wave singer/songwriter Elvis Costello teamed with a true New Orleans musical icon to record an album.
Costello and Allen Toussaint’s Grammy-nominated “The River In Reverse” was recorded in the Crescent City in the tense aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and it brought the venerated songwriter, pianist, producer and local NOLA legend out of the shadows and into the spotlight for music lovers outside of his hometown’s city limits.
The album and subsequent tour also made fast friends of a pair of Rock & Roll Hall of Famers who may appear mismatched on the surface but meshed together beautifully when paired in the studio or on stage.
With Costello back in town for a performance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival this weekend, the erstwhile star made a special stop to pay tribute to his late friend. (Toussaint passed away in in 2015.)
Though he didn’t live to see it, Toussaint was recently honored by the city he represented on the world stage with such class and grace when the Big Easy’s former “Robert E. Lee Boulevard” was renamed “Allen Toussaint Boulevard.”
And Costello couldn’t resist having a look.
“It’s about time,” Costello tweeted alongside a selfie in front of one of the newly-minted street signs. “Had to see it with my own eyes. The other road ran out.”
Toussaint both lived and worked on the street that now bears his moniker in tribute, owning both a residence and a house that contained a full recording studio next-door in the street’s 1400 block.
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