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*TOUSSAINT The LIBERATOR*
(Protector of Soul Music)
For the better part of a decade, vocalist Toussaint Liberator has leant his husky, powerful tenor to countless groups: the hip-hop outfit Red Pill, his own China Band, and most notably for two years to Stax and Blue Note recording artists Soulive. After touring the world with Soulive and taking some time away from the scene, Toussaint has returned to perform his original soul and reggae music. The son of a Baptist preacher (dad) and a talented Gospel singer (mom), Toussaint spent the majority of his youth singing in various Midwestern churches with a group that also featured his brothers and sister (the full-family lineup can be heard on several tracks of Toussaint’s 2005 Naked Ear Records release, Love the Almighty High). Later, while at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, Toussaint led the Gospel Revelations Choir but also got secular at local dives with his first band ever Six Dollar Cleveland. This was the beginning and where he learned to jump easily from the blues, to old-school R&B, to funk, to reggae. Toussaint relocated to Boston, MA in 2001 and continued in the same vein becoming a prominent voice in several scenes at once. He worked nightly with bands from all genres and solidly held his own with each. His musical open-mindedness, positive vibe, and especially his ability to deliver a polished performance in even the most improvised of moments have aligned him with a wildly diverse array of musicians. Since then, he has shared the spotlight with the Rolling Stones, Isaac Hayes, Burning Spear, Freddie Mcgregor, Ozomatli, The Everyone Orchestra, the Dave Matthews Band, John Legend, Me’Shell Ndegeocello, Ivan Neville, Barrington Levy, and Wyclef Jean, (search Youtube for evidence of that one). 2010 finds Toussaint poised for another swell in the storyline of his career. Having spent all of 2009 performing and recording with Buru Style, he has now connected with I Grade Records out of St. Croix, VI and has a gang of new material soon to be released!!
$10 (ADV) - www.boomboomtickets.com |
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