Bayou Maharajah

How did the late New Orleans piano legend James Booker (1939-1983) lose an eye at some point in his adult life? Well, theories abound. One has it that the orb was plucked from his head by criminals to whom he owed gambling debts. Another is that Booker was deprived of his eye during a fight with Ringo Starr. Booker, known as the “Black Liberace,” was an elusive, self-made man who was also a fine musician, exhibiting a streak of genius in his improvisations and compositions at the keyboard. Assembling a wide-ranging visual record of Booker's concert appearances and interviews, along with other archival materials and commentary by famous musicians who knew him well (Dr. John, Allen Toussaint) or were influenced by him (Harry Connick Jr.), filmmaker Lily Keber's Bayou Maharajah presents a portrait of an artist who emerged from humble beginnings and wrestled with demons all of his life. Along the way, Booker toured and recorded with an astonishing array of talent (Little Richard, Aretha Franklin, Fats Domino), boasted a slim but memorable recording legacy of his own, and impressed audiences everywhere with his rambling, brilliant evocations of Chopin, jazz, and rhythm and blues. A heroin addict who spent time in prison and suffered mental health issues, Booker is described by Dr. John as “the best black, gay, one-eyed junkie piano genius New Orleans has ever produced.” An interesting profile of a colorful character who died much too young, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)