The Meters guitarist recorded an album of exquisite unreleased solo songs in 1971 – and thought
Hurricane Katrina had claimed them. Rediscovered at last, they cap a storied and sublime career
![Funk star Leo Nocentelli: ‘Segregation leaves an indelible stain on your brain’](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/083070de79d1a7db63d7284b7f4272ff2ff92e14/0_100_2461_1476/master/2461.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=0b187c94f30357231632b0b2d2138a17)
You can’t pin Leo Nocentelli down. When I ask the legendary funk guitarist how his extraordinary solo album Another Side has come to be released after 50 years in oblivion, he tells the whole story in a seven-minute monologue, but when I try to confirm his age, no dice.
“It’s not important,” he says in a river-deep Louisiana accent. “I could say I’m 20, I could say I’m 85. Look at me. How old do you think I am?”