All 16 of the Atlantic sides from 1949 and 1953 (including a handful of alternate takes) on one glorious disc. Longhair's work for the label was notoriously marvelous -- this version of "Mardi Gras in New Orleans" reeks of revelry in the streets of the French Quarter; "She Walks Right In" and "Walk Your Blues Away" ride a bedrock boogie, and "In the Night" bounces atop a parade-beat shuffle groove and hard-charging saxes.
This cut predates anything that could technically be defined as funk. (Although the release date on this album is 1972, it's filled with songs that the 'Fess had been recording since the Fifties, or even earlier.) But it's from New Orleans and it makes me move around in my computer chair in a spirited manner, so I am personally stretching the definition.What makes Professor Longhair so great? A...
 "New Orleans Piano")
