"Tips" is an institution here: The House that Professor Longhair Built.

CNN: Old haunts in New Orleans

Booker (1939-1983) studied classical music as a boy, and of all the great New Orleans pianists including the better-known Professor Longhair he was the most technically agile.

NPR: James Booker: Making the Insipid Sublime

After the countdown, both Thursday morning and 2009 had arrived, and the Danza Quartet launched into a rumba-heavy "Auld Lang Syne" that would make the legendary pianist Professor Longhair wiggle with approval.

NPR: Danza Quartet Welcomes 2009, Bayou Style