Although he has been the presiding genius of New Orleans R&B since the late Fifties, Allen Toussaint has made relatively few recordings under his own name. These are his first sides; they were made for RCA and Sevile in 1958-1959. Toussaint assembled a crack New Orleans band, including Red Tyler, Roy Montrell, Melvin Lastie and Hungry Williams, and led them through a program of wonderfully inventive instrumentals that includes the original version of Java and 26 other songs, like Whirlaway, Po Boy Walk, Cow Cow Blues, and Real Churchy. The roots of Sixties New Orleans R&B are here.