Dr. John pays loving tribute to a hometown hero on Ske-Dat-De-Dat, an eclectic collection of tunes recorded by Louis Armstrong. John, who explored a palette of more modern sounds on the Dan Auerbach-produced Locked Down, returns to more familiar terrain this time around. A freshly re-harmonized version of “What a Wonderful World” has the pianist-singer engaging in call-and-response with the Blind Boys of Alabama, and yielding solo space to Nicholas Payton. Payton is also featured on a greasy, horns-popping version of “Gut Bucket Blues,” and The Blind Boys and another New Orleans-born
trumpeter, Terence Blanchard, appear on a low-slung version of “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams.” The Good Doctor also effectively pairs with singers, trading verses with Bonnie Raitt on the bluesy swing of “I’ve Got the World on a String,” going back and forth with Shemekia Copeland on the rambunctious “Sweet Hunk o’ Trash” and connecting with Ledisi on the gospel-fired “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen.”