Elvis Costello first collaborated with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame songwriter/arranger Allen Toussaint for the horn parts in the 1980's on Costello's contribution to a Yoko Ono tribute release and the later album Spike.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Toussaint spent time in the hellacious Superdome evacuee center before relocating to New York for a series of Hurricane Relief concerts. It was there after performances at Joe's Pub and Madison Sq Garden that he and Costello decided to record and collaborate together again.

They reconvened in LA and later in New Orleans with producer Joe Henry, working on Toussaint classics and new material that appears on their 2006 Verve/Forecast full length album release "The River In Reverse". They also did a tour with a full New Orleans horn section an Costello's band the Imposters that played Jazzfest and dates across the US. In late 2006 A DVD with 5.1 sound was released entitled "Hot As a Pistol, Keen As a Blade" that documents their historic band's appearance at Montreal's Jazz Festival.