Professor Longhair

London Concert Professor Longhair

For most of his life Henry 'Professor Longhair' Byrd (1918-1980) was unknown to the great wide world, despite being immensely influencial in his home city of New Orleans and recording quite a few subsequently revered discs during the 1950s, including one national R&B hit. The many artists who have acknowledged their debt to 'Fess include Fats Domino, Huey 'Piano' Smith, Allen Toussaint, James Booker, Art Neville and Dr John. After a decade of grinding poverty, his show-stopping appearance at the 2nd New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 1971 heralded a major upswing in his profile and he performed and recorded regularly for the rest of the decade. His one and only trip to Britain was in 1978, when blues-enthusiast and promoter John Stedman put him on at the New London Theatre and recorded the historic concert for his newly founded JSP Records. This anniversary reissue is just as compelling today as it was at the time, reminding us just what a fluid and rollicking good time entertainer 'Fess was, and serving as a tribute to 30 years of JSP Records.