Fess: The Professor Longhair Anthology (CD)

New Orleans pianist Henry Byrd, known to the world at large as Professor Longhair, or just "'Fess," was a vital bridge between jazz, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues in the middle of the 20th century. An interpreter, stylist, and innovator, he's a prime figure in New Orleans's rich musical history. His whooping vocal style and percussive, highly rhythmic piano playing are hallmarks of the New Orleans R&B style, and many of his songs ("Big Chief," "Tipitina") have become standards of the genre.

• Category:  Music  »  R&B  »  New Orleans R&B
• Format: CD   Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
• Release Date: November 23, 1993
• Label: Rhino Records (USA)
• UPC: 081227150228
• WAPI (Tower ID): 106727366
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• Tower.com Sales Rank: #17241 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #854 in R&B (See Top 100 R&B Bestsellers)
• #8 in New Orleans R&B (See Top 100 New Orleans R&B Bestsellers)

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Musician (3/94, p.91) - "...The music of Henry Roeland Byrd, a.k.a. Roy Byrd, a.k.a. Professor Longhair, is the fount from which all New Orleans keyboardists drank...Byrd's bobbing rhythms and warbling vocals marked him as an original..."

FESS: THE PROFESSOR LONGHAIR ANTHOLOGY includes tracks spanning the breadth of Roy Byrd's career, from 1950 to 1980, incorporating his output for the Mercury, Atlantic, Ebb, Alligator and Rounder labels, among others . The package contains a 32-page booklet with photos, extensive credits and liner notes.

Personnel includes: Professor Longhair (vocals, piano); Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack (vocals, guitar, electric piano); Earl King (vocals, whistling); Leo Nocentelli, Snooks Eaglin, Alvin "Shine" Robinson, "Big Will" Harvey, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Justin Adams, Roy Montrell, Walter Nelson (guitar); Warren Bell, Clarence Ford, Robert Parker (alto saxophone); Tony Dagradi, Andy Kaslow, Manuel Crusto, Nat Perrilliat, Morris Bechamin, Lee Allen, Alvin Batiste (tenor saxophone); Jerry Jumonville (tenor & baritone saxophones); Edward "Kidd" Jordan, Jim Moore, Alvin "Red" Tyler, Carl Blouin (baritone saxophone); Clyde Kerr, Eddie Nash, Emery Thompson, Steve Madio, Willie Singleton (trumpet); Warren Bokes, Wendell Eugene, Waldren "Frog" Joseph, Eddie Hines (trombone); Isidore "Tuts" Washington (piano); Allen Toussaint (electric piano); Art Neville (organ); George Porter, Jr. (bass, tambourine); Will Harvey, Jr., George Davis, David Lee Watson, Curtis Mitchell, Richard Payne, Frank Fields, Edgar Blanchard, Julius Farmer (bass); Joseph "Zigaboo" Modiste, John Vidacovich, Smokey Johnson, John Boudreaux, David Lee, Charlie Williams, Shiba, John Woodrow, Earl Palmer, Al Miller (drums); Alfred "Uganda" Roberts (congas); Sidney Quezergue (shaker); Jessi Smith, Rozalin Woods (background vocals).

Producers: Murray Nash (disc 1, tracks 1-2); Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler (disc 1, tracks 3-6); Ahmet Ertegun, Herb Abramson (disc 1, tracks 7-12); Joe Assunto (disc 1, tracks 17-18); Joe Ruffino (disc 1, track 20); John Stedman (disc 1, tracks 21-22); Phillipe Rault (disc 2, tracks 1-7); Bruce Iglauer, Andy Kaslow, Allison Kaslow (disc 2, tracks 8-9); Albert Goldman (disc 2, tracks 10-11); Quint Davis (disc 2, tracks 12-14); David Erdman (disc 2, tracks 15-16); Albert Goldman, Tom Sullivan, Kevin Eggers (disc 2, track 17).

Reissue producers: George Winston, Phillipe Rault, Steve Hodge, Frosty Horton (disc 2, tracks 1-7).

Compilation producer: James Austin.

Includes liner notes by Don Snowden.

One of the grandfathers of New Orleans music and a seminal influence on everyone from Fats Domino to Dr. John to the Meters, Roy Byrd (AKA Professor Longhair) and his legacy are beautifully represented on this two-disc anthology. Byrd's piano playing--his adaptation of Caribbean-flavored rhythms, in particular--became a lynchpin in the city's developing musical tradition. That Byrd further fused these styles with blues, gospel, jazz, and the city's well-known parade music (the "second line" beat) also aided the emergence of R&B and rock & roll. Byrd's late-1940s and early-'50s hits like the rollicking "Ball the Wall" and "Hadacol Bounce" surge with irresistible grooves.

With the exception of the city's party anthem "Mardi Gras in New Orleans" (the song is still played incessantly at the festival every year), the second disc is comprised mostly of music from Longhair's '70s comeback and live versions of his '50s hits. While Byrd's performances are still fiery on this material, the real treasure is the first disc, which contains the Professor's defining moments. (Are there any slices of early vinyl that compare with "Tipitina" for rolling, barrelhouse joyousness?) FESS is the blueprint of the New Orleans sound, the perfect soundtrack for wild nights in the Big Easy.

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