Professor
Longhair: New Orleans Piano (Atlantic 7225-2)
There’s a relish in Longhair - a delight in words/sounds
& the situations they portray, and in the sheer physicality
of his pianowork - that is simply irreplacable. Many of
his heirs, such as Dr John, capture much of this...but,
they would also be the first to admit that there is just
no substitute. Whenever you really want that particularly
zesty relish - the kind that makes you lick your lips
& settle down for a third helping (thank you very
much) - the “livin’, lovin’ Dr Professor
Longhair” is & always will be your man.
He got his start as a child, dancing atop pianos in New
Orleans bars, progressed to playing one himself - building
the counterpoint of his dancing into staider/older models
- and thereby became the innovator who birthed the New
Orleans piano style of the last fifty years (and more).
His first recordings are great, but his best work came
in the early 50s, in two classic sessions for Atlantic,
now complete on this irreplacable disc. The first session
is w/a very small group, allowing his romping piano to
fully shine through, like a little kid dancing free in
his own candystore. The second session “orchestrates”
his style (perfectly) for a slightly larger band - and
offers a sax player who sounds something like an animated
zipper, to boot.
From his joyous ode to truly upright lovin’, “Ball
the Wall”, to the amazed
gape at the female gait of “She Walks Right In”...there’s
nary a dud to be heard. And, if you (truly) wanna understand
what made his pianowork such a lodestone to every pianist
that has heard it since, just listen to his solo in “Hey
Little Girl”...repeatedly cascading treble counterposed
against a pounding bass, that lurches from side to side
w/a grace that seems almost inconceivable: such a thing
was never heard prior to the Professor’s advent...
Everything about Longhair was pure one-off...from his
crack-voiced/gargled yodels, the whistling solos, &
the lyrics that slyly celebrated life’s simple pleasures,
to his incredibly physical & slippery piano style
- that seems such a natural for the instrument, so that
the real (unasked) question is simply why it took so goddamn
long for anyone to invent? I could go on forever about
Longhair...he is (simply) one of the essential pleasures
and, perhaps, the most joyously life-affirming artist
I’ve ever run across.
So...next time you’re tempted by the heresy which
claims that only down art can be truly great - and that
the rest is (merely) superficial “entertainment”
- slip on down to your local & lay your hands upon
this disc. A genuinely lovely person, I’m sure that
Longhair would be embarassed by my unabashed paen to his
greatness. But...I’m also sure that he’d purely
love to help you rediscover the joys amidst your life...
John Henry Calvinist
