Professor Longhair — Treme, New Orleans

Professor Longhair — Henry Roeland Byrd — was the foundational figure of New Orleans rhythm and blues piano, the musician from whom Fats Domino, Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, and virtually every subsequent New Orleans pianist descended. He grew up in the Treme neighbourhood — the oldest African American neighbourhood in the United States and the cultural heart of New Orleans' music — and developed a piano style that fused boogie-woogie, blues, mambo, and the specific polyrhythmic tradition of New Orleans second-line music into something entirely his own. 'Tipitina,' his signature tune, became the name of one of New Orleans' most beloved music venues.

Longhair's career was fitful — he drove a truck and worked as a cook during periods when the music industry wasn't interested — but he was rediscovered during the blues revival of the 1970s and celebrated in his final years with the attention his influence deserved. He co-founded the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1970 and remained its spiritual centre until his death in 1980. The Meters, the Neville Brothers, and the entire tradition of New Orleans funk are downstream of his approach.

Treme remains a living neighbourhood and the spiritual heart of New Orleans music culture. Tipitina's, the club named for Longhair's song, is on Napoleon Avenue in the Uptown neighbourhood and is still one of the city's essential music venues. The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival — held annually at the Fair Grounds Race Course — is the most direct continuation of Longhair's legacy.