New Orleans Piano - Blues Originals, Vol 2

The most compact collection of early Fess available on eMusic, these 1949-53 sides are essential. Andy Kaslow, the saxophonist in Longhair’s last band, described the man’s pianistics as "Caribbean left hand and boogie woogie right hand"; some boiled that down further to “rhumba boogie.” Henry Roeland Byrd, who as a child learned to play on a piano with only about ten working keys, spent a lifetime embellishing that seemingly limited range of sounds, combining relentless NOLA rhythms with delightful, dynamic trills and frills while singing (or chanting) in an equally limited voice that added ribald good humor. The solo “Hey Now Baby” and “Hey Little Girl” bring his hoodoo to life most straightforwardly while band tracks like “Tipitina” and “In the Night,” which he continued reworking from his mid '70s rediscovery until his mid-80s death, take the sound and spirit of New Orleans R&B to its highest peaks. He could play with unfathomable speed, momentum and dexterity or he could settle into a slow groove that wouldn’t let go. Either way, there’s really nothing else quite like this music.