We all knew that Hugh Laurie could play the piano, but this is a world away from his occasional tinklings in the role of Bertie Wooster. It's a head-first plunge into the depths of New Orleans music, from Jelly Roll Morton to Dr John. This, he says, has been the music of his heart ever since it invaded "my gawky English frame", and on the strength of these 15 amazingly authentic-sounding tracks you simply have to believe him. Admittedly, with arrangements by Allen Toussaint, and Dr John, Irma Thomas and Tom Jones joining in, he's in good company, but Laurie is the undoubted star.

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