Professor Longhair Live in Chicago (Clear)

Limited one time pressing on Clear Vinyl! Professor Longhair emerged as a force in the New Orleans musical community with this initial recordings for the Star Talent label out of Houston and his series of 78s for Mercury, Atlantic and Federal Records issued between 1949 and 1953. This recording is the result of Longhair's appearance at the Chicago Folk Festival in early 1976 that was recorded by a local radio station and mixed under the supervision of Billy Gregory, who kept his copy of the tape for about 35 years before presenting it to Carlo Ditta at Orleans Records for a listen. There have been any number of official and semi-official "live" Professor Longhair recordings issued since the pianist's untimely passing in 1980, but this record offers incontrovertible evidence of the power and drive of the mid-70s edition of Fess's band with Billy Gregory featured prominently on guitar. - John Sinclair