Allen Toussaint and The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Poole Lighthouse
NEW Orleans and jazz go together like gumbo and bourbon - and, for one night only, a little bit of Louisiana could be enjoyed at Lighthouse.
There were some legendary musicians on show, not least Allen Toussaint, and a star-studded line-up from the world-famous Preservation Hall.
Tourists flock to the Hall - it's the place to be seen when you're in New Orleans, so how lucky we were that a little part of the French Quarter had come to us.
Ironically, it was veteran trombonist Frank Demond, with the band since 1965, the only outsider (from California), who sang Louisian-i-a... and very well too.
Walter Payton stepped out from behind the string bass for a Satchmo-like I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate, and ice-cool trumpet ace John Brunious had the audience singing along to Shake That Thing.
Carl Le Blanc, on banjo, and Ben Jaffe (bass and sousaphone), added youth and verve, while Rickie Monie plays a mean piano.
But the star for me was Shannon Powell, so cool on drums, with a powerful yet understated singing style, and the highlight, naturally, was a significant part of the audience following the band through the auditorium and onto the stage for When The Saints Go Marching In.
The legacy of Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton is in very capable hands.
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