“And now, ladies and gentlemen, the one and only… Professor Longhair!” Fess hits with a syncopated vamp and it’s off to the races for a half-hour of insanely intense second line stepping out, blues and a little something extra.

“Doin’ It” gives Longhair a chance to run through some of his classic moves before he shouts “Billy!” and the amazing Billy Gregory rips out a glorious guitar solo. The jam is on and things just get more more frenzied as chorus after chorus pits the relentlessly original rhythmic ideas of Professor Longhair against the enthusiasm of his rough and ready backing band. Did he ever play “Big Chief” exactly the same way twice? Perhaps by way of statistical accident. His vocals are as unpredictable as his piano playing, exploding syllables into whoops and slurs at will. It’s remarkable to hear him step back and pay a little tribute to Memphis Slim on “Every Day I Have the Blues,” “Omelette” Ertegun (ahem) on a fabulous “Mess Around” and Muddy Waters on “Got My Mojo Working.” After all, the set was part of the 1976 University of Chicago Folk Festival. But we also get a great, hyper-charged version of “Mardi Gras in New Orleans” and the off-the-rails finale of “Fess’s Boogie.” It’s really great to have this new glimpse of Longhair’s versatility and improvisational fearlessness.

It’s also a long look at one of the underappreciated geniuses of New Orleans music, Billy Gregory. Gregory is a New Orleans guitarist who went on to almost famous-ness with It’s a Beautiful Day before returning home to play with just about everybody in town. Recently Gregory may be best known for pulling his pistol on a would-be robber and shooting him on Frenchmen Street after a gig, but he can really bend the strings and his half-dozen solos on this record show him in prime form. Gregory also mixed and remastered what is clearly a tape with some serious sound issues, which is probably why we haven’t heard it until now. Better late than never!