When you are born in Bogalusa, Louisiana it is perhaps inevitable that you will eventually become a boogie woogie pianist and indeed that was the fate of one Henry Roeland "Roy" Byrd better known as Professor Longhair.
He began his career doing rhythm and blues but over the years he slowly graduated towards jazz.
These songs are taken from a concert at the New London Theatre, Drury Lane, London on 26th March 1978 and he is accompanied by Alfred "Uganda" Roberts on Conga Drums.
We start with his version of the Ray Charles classic Mess Around.
We then have some tremendous whistling as he pays tribute to Erik Bartlam's favourite town New Orleans on Go To The Mardi Gras
Sadly he (Professor Longhair not Erik ) died fairly shortly after this concert in January 1980 at the relatively young age of 61.Happily, Erik is still going strong.
Professor Longhair - Mess Around
Professor Longhair - Go To The Mardi Gras
Of course I do love New Orleans...it's one of my favorite places on the planet. A regular haunt for me and Martha before the Storm and the Boy. Which is why I'm still mad as hell about it.
ReplyDeleteI used to spend a lot of time in Bogalusa. It's a typical set up down here...or in the Pine Belt areas. Cut timber outside of town...make paper in town. Smells like rotten eggs being fried over a tire fire...unless the winds right. Then it smells like roses in town...but ten miles down the road, in the middle of now where you drive into a noxious fog.
Longhair is good fun.