The Longhair Legacy

MOST ROCK fans have never heard of Professor Longhair, but lots of their favorite musicians certainly have. The New Orleans-based piano I player, who died two years ago at 61, never enjoyed the rewards of a national hit, but his exuberant, rollicking style has endured. Atlantic has just issued The Last Mardi Gras, a double LP capturing Longhair’s 1978 performance at Tipitina’s, the New Orleans club named after one of this songs.