The Professor Longhair 100th Birthday Tribute took place at Tipitina’s on Wednesday, December 19, 2018.
Harry Shearer acted as Master of Ceremony while the house band for the night was led by none other than bassist George Porter Jr., accompanied by Herlin Riley on drums, John Papa Gros on the B3 organ, saxophonists Tony Dagradi and Roger Lewis, and percussionist Alfred “Uganda” Roberts.
After a solo set from pianist Tom McDermott, a carousel of New Orleans musical royalty joined the all-star group as the night raged on. Pianists David Torkanovsky, Marcia Ball, Ivan Neville, Jon Cleary, C.R. Gruver, Tom Worrell took turns at the keys. Guitarist Deacon John, drummer Johnny Vidacovich, vocalist Topsy Chapman, guitarist June Yamagishi, saxophonist Lance Ellis, trumpeter Eric Benny Bloom and many others joined the fun, playing all of Professor Longhair’s hits.
All photos by Noé Cugny
