Dr. John Talks about Professor Longhair

In this clip from Clint Eastwood's interview with Dr. John, the doctor himself talks about his start in music, his influences, and 'FESS!
Professor Longhair also plays Tipitina solo!!!

[@uhlijohn]

RIP Dr. John...he is playing with Prof. Longhair right now.....

[@kellyoradio5029]

hades has a helluva band, tha's for sure.

[@evilrob58]

Met him at a blues bar in Chicago ❤️

[@deejannemeiurffnicht1791]

thats a deliciously raw and soulfull version of Tipitina by professor longhair at the end there! gorgeous. brought tears welling up.

[@lico2pdx]

i think he died about a week later. from "piano players dont play together" him, tuts washington, and allen toussaint

[@dickrichards9650]

When I stop gettin chills when I hear "Tipitina", it might be time to move on. It hasn't happen yet, and that's something to be grateful for.

[@kathywarrick2084]

Couldn't agree more ☺️💖

[@laserduchamp8071]

i was blessed to see him play four times over 20 years and got to shake his magic hand once

[@jimbarker6763]

Fascinating piece by Rebennack...a true pioneer himself.

[@daverenick5830]

I don't think I ever heard him play Tipitina and not get blown away by it. It's just dead center at the heart of music.

[@fmorin71234]

I was so blessed to grow up down there and see the Dr many times. There will never be another

[@dontbe2silly]

Excellent post, one of the best on KZbin, thank you maxiv87

[@bthor76]

Fess was so underrated in his lifetime. He had something that others simply didn’t.

[@bmuhamad]

Gone, yet not forgotten.

[@MightyAlz]

Dr John: "Seriously baaaad stuff! Clint: "You mean bad as in good, right?" Godlike.

[@andrewcampbell-bluespianop6741]

Really great stuff... love Dr John!

[@chuckkirkpatrick6712]

Listening to this man play makes me laugh and cry simultaneously...

[@uhlijohn]

Saw Dr. John at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, IL many years ago.

[@iglou7]

Very cool!!!

[@alanoneill3065]

brilliant...it made me pick up my old guitar and try to play along...inspirational

[@jimgrice1678]

If you are referring to the guitar player in the photo, that was the good doctor hisself.

[@WilliamMilne772]

God God! The man can play!

[@greichenbach]

EXCELLENT!! Thanks for posting!

[@ronbo11]

That footage of Fess comes from "Piano Players Rarely Ever Play Together" a documentary by Stevenson Palfi. It shows Fess, Tuts Washington and Allen Toussaint rehearsing for a concert and talking about music. Professor Longhair died 2 days before the scheduled show. It is amazing footage about some of the greatest pianists ever to come from New Orleans!

[@markmcmyn8967]

The finest music in the land.

[@Joe_J-MT_Boy]

Man! That part of 'Tipitina' where he nails that bass note with his left hand, one note...opposite of the melody - almost like a Gospel "call and response" - and then puts that into a run of bars.... I didn't know he was gonna do that! So nice having the close-up of his hands playing that part. Sometimes I hear something really interesting in music I'm listening to, but I don't know how they get that sound. This was a very good lesson by a Master Professor...

[@jabal64]

Extraordinaire: à partir de 3:06 Professor Longhair explique comment il reconstituait un piano à partir de plusieurs pianos de récupération. Avez-vous vu son clavier pour Tipitina!

[@buddydog1956]

This is NEW ORLEANS, baby,....my home town!!!

[@nickeyparadise1]

I just figured out that Fess would syncopate using parts of sixteenth notes almost every beat but play a very solid one each measure in his left hand.

[@IndependentGeorge76]

fantastic, just wish there was more...

[@CryptoGrizzly710]

music beyond the ages nothing better ever

[@johnnymerritt5969]

The greatest the most humble🎉😢🫡🧐

[@ennbee2051]

FUCK! Blondie and Dr. John in the same video!? My two idols!? RIP Doc. Love ya Clint.

[@dodysandifer]

The old black guy at the beginning with the derby on is Henry Grey.

[@JBmusicart]

James Booker... What about James Booker...

[@mikebuzzard2926]

Netflix had a documentary about james booker, dont know if its still streaming

[@chrismcnelly3004]

This.

[@timothylewis2450]

Indeed a genius, probably New Orleans greatest. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qoebq5xmqtx2ns0

[@jasonthompson4136]

the absolute best! the Bayou Maharaj!

[@mountainwoodie9816]

Fess, Booker, Dr John, Charles and Art, Bobby Charles............wow.we've lost a lot.

[@robt5818]

True, but at least we have records and videos...

[@susiewheeler8197]

A joy forever

[@BigBangPercussion]

Precious....

[@rogeralsop3479]

Wonderful players.

[@elmud]

Blondie with one of my favorite piano players.

[@lisalabellarte7713]

❤

[@cynthiahawkins2389]

Damn!! "Dumpsta diving piano"...drag 'em in off the street. Aw-right...That's MY kinda way to go...

[@TheBigbloom]

Ikr

[@kahlodiego5299]

😍

[@MarkTarmannPianoCheck_it_out]

what time it is? it is some of the most beautiful piano ever squeezed into 20 seconds. i gots to have it. i will transpose it and make a vid of the fingerings and hold up the sheet music to the camera so you can get it. thanks for the idea and challenge cheers mt

[@burstynp]

Marktamannpiano, did you ever do this. I want the sheet music to this version of Tee Nah Nah

[@judyengle7728]

Good video

[@sealerdave]

Watch "Piano Players Rarely play Together" Tuts -Fess and Alan Tousaint Fabuolus

[@mikebuzzard2926]

When the video clip changes to professor longhair, fess is talking about tuts Washington teaching him how to play piano

[@MrSnaketoe]

great! thanks very much. i read on some compilation sleeve that he'd run up walls in his act and do flips. t-bone walker played guitar doing the splits (i guess chuck berry was a fan?). slim gaillard could lope on over and play something with the backs of his hands whilst the professor ran up some walls....i'll just imagine them in a band pioneering rock & roll in zero-gravity

[@monkeytown1000]

You may not have had a Professor Longhair in Ireland, (we didn't have one in England either) but you had plenty of great music and musicians. For example, you had the great Rory Gallagher, one of the greatest white blues guitarists of all time. When Jimi Hendrix was asked "What's it like to be the greatest guitarist in the world?" he replied "I don't know, ask Rory Gallagher". PS If you like this New Orleans blues piano like Fess look up James Booker.

[@broken1394]

James Booker

[@JBmusicart]

Exactly

[@chrismcnelly3004]

@@JBmusicart What he said

[@mrsceptical6686]

What’s Dr John playing at 1:55?

[@ultrashmutz93]

Wish I was related to the Gris-Gris man so we could jam

[@cypressdobro8759]

does ya kno whut da gris gris is???

[@nancym5866]

Just the best in this world

[@miquelpp]

That´s Junker´s Blues., I think. You can find an impressive version with Dr. John on the piano and some other fantastic musicans like allen Toissant, Eddie Bo, Samuel Berfect etc... playing in Williy Deville´s Victory Mixture album. BTW a masterpiece dedicated to all those known and unknown legends of New Orleans music. Highly recommended.

[@IndependentGeorge76]

yeah but they had Bono too, which evens things up in Englands favour a bit ;)

[@NilsFerry]

I don't think he mentioned a guitar player by name.

[@freejazzandcheese1]

Does anyone the name of the guitarist Mac talks about. Cant make out his name???

[@cypressdobro8759]

that was mac.

[@dickrichards9650]

He was talking about himself. That was him in the photo, as well.

[@mikebuzzard2926]

He was talking about himself, the reason he quit playing guitar was he took a kid out on the road with him and promised his mother nothing would happen turns out the kid was getting pistol whipped and Dr john tried to take the gun away from the guy and got shot through his ring finger.

[@JBmusicart]

If it weren't for Booker, I highly doubt Dr. John, and Fess, and even Allan Toussaint would play the same.

[@davidtaliai996]

Well Dr John said so himself that Booker inspired him to be a more rounded pianist instead of just being classed as a typical new orleans blues player. Booker hands down was the complete player and there hasnt been one like him since.

[@mikebuzzard2926]

There was a documentary about james booker on netflix watched it and dr john was in it pretty sad how booker was left in the waiting room like that

[@timothylewis2450]

James Booker was extremely gifted and quite possibly the greatest genius NOLAs ever produced. He was undoubtedly a major influence on pianists, perhaps all musicians in New Orleans. However, it was pioneers like Fess and Tuts that influenced and inspired Booker. The student becomes the master.

[@wdflannery]

Booker had a weekly gig on Thurs. nite at Lu and Charlie's, and I was there many times, besides Booker the other thing I remember is that they served garlic bread! I'm pretty sure the Professor came before Booker. Blanche Thomas and Longhair got me hooked on N.O. music before I moved to N.O.

[@raginald7mars408]

Music is the BEST teacher - Man would be an Error - without Music Nietzsche

[@ncleode]

I'm disappointed in all of you, Robbie and the like, I know it's easy money but it's bad for the blues.

[@Zilegil]

What's this?

[@CdoubleyouC]

Hhaah Clint has got to sit down to conduct an interview. Makin the Dr. and everybody else nervous like there is gonna be a shoot out. Grown man with no manners right ther

[@ClassicJukeboxBand]

Sounds like he had been smokin' somtehing...

[@noholdorelse4827]

Hope so!!!

[@etmeyutub]

always sounds like that

[@zacharyjarrells7084]

That’s just him being from New Orleans/the South. We take things a little slower in the South. Plus, he was a heroin addict for a long time.

[@davidtaliai996]

"bad as in good" c'mon Clint brush up on your blues/jazz lingo before you interview anyone especially somebody like Dr John.

[@PickyMcCritical]

+David Taliai Could've been clarification for his audience.

[@4orrcountry]

@@PickyMcCritical Bingo!

[@ferrellr7577]

clint is trying hard to be cool but he"s not. yes Clint bad means good

[@francescobenati2045]

yeah. Clint Eastwood isn't cool at all.

[@georgeallan6550]

That was the ultimate square moment when Eastwood talks about the word bad. Embarrasing.

[@LunchsackTheWise]

Not the best interviewer

[@BLAB-it5un]

The saddest part about this clip is most people have never heard of Professor Longhair, have never seen the documentary with Tuts Washington and Alan Toussaint called "Piano players rarely play together" or something to that effect and that this was likely the last time Fess played "Tipitina" as I am fairly certain he died the next day or within just a few days of this recording. This clip is from that documentary and he died while it was being filmed.