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Alton “Big Al” Carson laughs when he describes his new album 3 Phat Cats and 1 Skinny Dog as his “pet project” — ensuring one gets the joke. Actually, the vocalist who has spent 16 years playing at Bourbon Street’s Funky Pirate, laughs a lot.
Carson began his musical journey playing trumpet and then tuba performing in brass bands and in traditional jazz settings. It wasn’t until a bit later that he found his voice and began singing R&B at New Orleans hotspots. His roots in the tradition remain important to him and he’s always included tunes like “Basin Street Blues” in his shows at the Funky Pirate and they often popped up on his previous albums. For his latest project, however, the vocalist decided to temporarily set aside jazz and gospel flavors and dig into some soul, funk and blues.
The CD opens with a suggestion of a second-line rhythm on the uptempo blues number, “Callin’ You Out” that has already become a favorite of Funky Pirate patrons. Mark Penton, a guitarist who also plays regularly at the Bourbon Street club, penned this and two other numbers including an album highlight, “It’s Not the End of the World.” With its strong lyrics and old school soul flavor, it makes a fine vehicle for Carson to do some testifying.
Much of the album stylistically draws from the sounds of the 1960s and ’70s including Carson’s single original contribution to the album, the late night, urban blues number “Hip Shakin’ Mama.” In that mode, Carson and the Blues Masters also revamp the legendary Robert Johnson’s “32-20 Blues,” giving it, what Carson describes as an Ohio Players treatment.
