This June 6th will mark the first anniversary of the passing of Mac Rebennack — known throughout the World as Dr. John. A day prior, on June 5, 2020, The Last Music Company will release a commemorative limited vinyl edition of Ske Dat De Dat worldwide.
Dr. John, a six-time Grammy® Award-winning ambassador of New Orleans Music and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, recorded the album seven years ago in tribute to the great Louis Armstrong, inspired by a dream in which he received his marching orders from “Satchmo” himself.
“I tried to make the songs fit me the best I could,” Dr. John said in an interview on the subject with the Los Angeles Times. “I hope I was always true to the music. I have no idea what the world’s gonna ever say about what that is. But you know what? I felt like I gave it my best.” And that he did, along with some of his friends
Co-produced by trombonist Sara Morrow, the album weaves rare collaborations with Bonnie Raitt, Shemekia Copeland, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Arturo Sandoval, the McCrary Sisters, Terrance Blanchard, the Blind Boys of Alabama and others into fresh interpretations and arrangements of songs from Armstrong’s extensive catalog.
The Blind Boys of Alabama open the affair with “What a Wonderful World,” which jaunts into Dr. John’s funky New Orleans take on the classic. Standouts on the journey include a bluesy rendition of “I’ve Got the World on a String” with Bonnie Raitt, and “Gut Bucket Blues,” with Nicholas Payton’s show-stopping performance on trumpet. “Sweet Hunk O’ Trash” is a sassy back-and-forth with Shemekia Copeland, which glides into a classy “Memories of You” on the sound of Arturo Sandoval’s trumpet. The rousing set finisher, “When You’re Smiling (The Whole World Smiles With You),” features the Dirty Dozen Brass Band at its pure NOLA best.
Louis Armstrong and Dr. John made “the whole world smile” with them, by bringing the musical traditions of New Orleans to the greater World. The reissue of Ske Dat De Dat celebrates the imagination of both men, and one hopes, somewhere in the “Spirit Gig,” they are still smiling.
TRACK LISTING:
- What a Wonderful World (4:11) w/The Blind Boys of Alabamaand Nicholas Payton
- Mack the Knife (6:13) w/Mike Laddand Terrence Blanchard
- Tight Like This (4:52) w/Telmaryand Arturo Sandoval
- I’ve Got the World on a String (4:04) w/Bonnie Raitt
- Gut Bucket Blues (2:47) w/Nicholas Payton
- Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child (4:45) w/Anthony Hamilton
- That’s My Home (3:55) w/The McCrary Sistersand Wendell Brunious
- Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen (4:37) w/The McCrary Sisters andLedisi
- Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (6:36) w//The Blind Boys of AlabamaandTerrance Blanchard
- Dippermouth Blues (4:28) w/James “12” Andrews
- Sweet Hunk O’Trash (4:19) w/Shemekia Copeland
- Memories of You (5:03) w/Arturo Sandoval
- When You’re Smiling (The Whole World Smiles with You) (2:42) w/The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Photo by Amy Harris