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.
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.