Alton Carson

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Big Al Carson (front), with the pianist Lars Edegran

Alton "Big Al" Carson (born October 2, 1953 ; † April 26, 2020 ) was an American blues and jazz musician ( vocals , tuba , bass horn) who was active in the New Orleans music scene .

Live and act

Carson performed with church ensembles as a child and played in the school band at Booker T. Washington High School . He then studied at Xavier University before embarking on a career as a professional musician in the early 1980s. He played tuba and horn with Doc Paulin , the Tuxedo Jazz Band , the Olympia Brass Band , the Eureka Brass Band , The Riverwalk Jazz Band and the Spirit of New Orleans Brass Band . In later years he was mainly active as a jazz and blues singer.

Carson became an integral part of the New Orleans music scene and made regular guest appearances at the city's festivals. With his (almost every evening) appearance in the Funky Pirate Bar , where he played with his band, the Blues Masters , for more than 25 years , a kind of institution on Bourbon Street . In the field of jazz, he was involved in eight recording sessions between 1985 and 1997, according to Tom Lord .

In 1994 Carson toured Europe on a New Orleans Music Tour, on which he also played for the Dutch royal family. The tour also included artists Aaron Neville and Ernie K-Doe . In 2002 he presented the album Take Your Drunken Ass Home ; its theme song was written by Carson when the blues musician and his band were repeatedly interrupted by a drunken patron in a New Orleans bar during their set. Since then, the song has become a favorite during the carnival season.

Carson died of complications from a heart attack in April 2020 at the age of 66 .

Discographic notes

Carson on the sousaphone with Dr. Michael White's Liberty Jazz Band , 1990
  • Magnificent Seven with Milton Batiste and Alton Carson: Best of Bourbon Street Jazz (Mardi Gras, 1990), u. a. with Wendell Eugene , Don Vappie
  • The Magnificent VII: Authentic New Orleans Jazz Funeral (Mardi Gras, 1991)
  • Magnolia Jazzband with "Big Al" Carson: 25th Anniversary Concert (MJB, 1997)

literature

Web links

Commons : Big Al Carson  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Big Al Carson, New Orleans bluesman and Bourbon Street singer, dies at 66. NOLA.com, April 26, 2020, accessed on April 28, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Tom Lord : The Jazz Discography (online, accessed April 28, 2020)
  3. ^ Review of Sharon Witmer's album Take Your Drunken Ass Home on Allmusic . Retrieved April 28, 2020.
personal data
SURNAME Carson, Alton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Carson, Big Al
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz and blues musician (vocals, tuba)
DATE OF BIRTH October 2, 1953
DATE OF DEATH April 26, 2020