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Providing Cajun & Zydeco information on the Web since 1995
ŠAndrea D. Rubinstein, 1995-2007
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(maintained by Ellen Papper)
This website is created and maintained by Andrea Rubinstein.
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For New Listeners
When I first got interested listening to Cajun, Creole and Zydeco music, I was overwhelmed by all the choices and unfamiliar names. Below are my choices for CDs to start building your own Louisiana French music library.
This is a selective listing...just one person's opinion (mine!)
Recorded in the Bay Area:
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 BeauSoleil,
Live!
From the Left Coast Rounder CD 6035 (recorded at Great American
Music Hall, San Francisco, 1989) |
| Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band, Live! At the Dance Arhoolie CD 418 (recorded at Ashkenaz, Berkeley, 1994) |
Cajun and Creole Roots
| Amede Ardoin |
Cajun and Zydeco music would not be what it is today with Amede Ardoin.. He was Creole-French speaking black man from Eunice, Louisana who, despite the strict segregation of the time, played for both white and black audiences during the 1920-30's sometines performing whole dances alone, or with the rhythmic aid of only one back-up fiddle. He performed and made historic recording with Cajun fiddler, Dennis McGee. His enormous popularity was not without problems, however, and on the way home from a dance one night, Amede was tragically beaten by two men for accepting a handerchief from a white woman to mop his brow with at the dance. His mind was never the same after that and he died in an asylum. His legacy lives on, however, in classic recording from the 20's and 30s, and the enormous influence he had on Cajun, Creole and zydeco music.
| I'm Never Comin' Back Arhoolie 7007 |
| Bois Sec Ardoin
The cousin of Amede Ardoin, Bois Sec plays accordian in the French Creole style. Bois Sec, along with Cajun fiddler, Dewey Balfa, formed a strong relationship based on their shared dedication to keeping the French music of their heritage alive. He also formed a 50 year partnership with legendary fiddler, Canray Fontenot. |
| Allons Danser Rounder 3719 (with Balfa Toujours, 1998 - classic Bois Sec with contemporary instrumentation) |
| La Musique Creole, Arhoolie 445 (recordings from the 60s and early 70s with Canray Fonenot) |
| Iry LeJuene
When I was taking a swamp tour out of Henderson, I got to talking with the guide about Cajun music. He said there was no one who could get folks going like Iry LeJeune. LeJeune was heavily influenced by Creole accordianist, Amede Ardoin, as well as Amede Breaux. He was a virtuoso on the accordian, and had a soulful singing style.
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Cajun
| BeauSoleil Founded in mid-1970s, fiddler and folklorist Michael Doucet and BeauSoleil helped spark the resurgence of Cajun/Zydeco music. From playing once a week at Mulate's Cajun Restaurant in Breaux Bridge, LA, the band has gone on to tour the world, appear regularly on A Prairie Home Companion, provide music for the movies Belizaire the Cajun & The Big Easy and record both traditional and progressive versions of the Cajun/Zydeco repertoire.
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| Balfa Toujours |
Traditional Cajun music from the daughter of Dewey Balfa along with accordianist Dirk Poweill, fiddler Kevin Wimmer & drummer Mike Chapman.
| Deaux Voyages, Rounder. |
| La Pointe, Rounder |
| California Cajun Orchestra Founded in 1982 by Danny Poullard, Suzy & Eric Thompson, CCO is in large part responsible for the current popularity of Cajun-zydeco music in Northern California. Louisiana-born Poullard started playing the accordion in the late '60s at local Creole Catholic traditional church dances. Suzy studied fiddling with Dewey Balfa & Dennis McGee. The band has recently received Cajun music awards from both the Louisiana Cajun French Music Association (Special Award) and the Lafayette (LA) Times (Best Out-of-State Band). Their album, Not Lonesome Anymore won the "Prix Dehors De Nous" (equivalent to a Cajun Grammy, for best out-of-state band album) from Louisiana's official Cajun organization, the Cajun French Music Association and Nonc Adam Twostep was nominated for a NAIRD Indie Award for Best Cajun-Zydeco Album of 1995 along with Steve Riley, CJ Chenier, Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas, and Beau Jocque. (NAIRD is National Association of Independent Record Distributors).
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| File
Named for the ground sassafras that thickens a native Louisiana gumbo,
Filé combines the most powerful elements of the bayou state's musical
legacies. Anchored by Ward Lormand's Cajun accordion playing and D'Jalma
Garnier's Creole fiddling, the band unites four vocalists to perform songs
from across the Cajun, Creole and swamp pop spectrum.
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| Steve Riley and
the Mamou Playboys Accordionist Steve Riley started singing French songs at three and picked up the accordion at seven. Steve and the Mamou Playboy's high energy music innovates within the Cajun tradition, marrying rocking dance rhythms to their acoustic heritage.
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| Horace Trajan
20 year old Trajan represents the next generation of Cajun musicians. His debut recording is compelling, within the traditional Cajun style.
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| The Touchet Family The Touchet Brothers played house dances in South Louisiana during the 1940s. and since then various members of the family have been playing in this band as the decades rolled by.
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 Al Berard & Karen England
"Feet Off the Ground".
Two fiddlers playing old style Cajun-Creole songs,
this evocative CD is absolutely captivating. Go ahead, put this on your player,
close yours eyes and imagine you are driving through the backroads of SW
Louisiana. |
Zydeco
| Clifton Chenier |
The 'king of zydeco', who late in his career actually performed with a crown, Clifton Chenier took the French Creole music he grew up with, mixed it with the blues, R& B, country, swing and swamp pop and created zydeco as we know it today. A good place to start exploring zydeco and Clifton's musis the excellent anthology noted below:
| Zydeco Dynamite: The Clifton Chenier Anthology (Rhino) |
| Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band Keith Frank started playing in his father's Zydeco band, the Preston Frank Family Band, when he was four. Now he is one of the hottest acts on the Zydeco scene, playing R&B-influenced dance grooves. You can't sit down when this hard-driving, nouveau Zydeco is being played.
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| Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers Beau Jocque was a big man with a bear of voice who created a big, funky, high-energy, Zydeco sound. He was a major innovator who blended his Zydeco roots with the sensibilities of rap, down-home blues and funk to create compelling, primal dance music. A Beau Jocque performance brought down the house.
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| Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas, |
Nathan Williams is one of the most entertaining live acts on the Louisiana crawfish circuit today. The house band, when not on the road, at his brother, Sid's,. El-Sido's Zydeco and Blues Club in Lafayette, Nathan plays a big piano accordian in the style of Clifton Chenier.
| I'm a Zydeco Hog - Live at the Rock 'n' Bowl, New Orleans. (Rounder). If you've never been to Mid-City Lanes Rock 'n' Bowl for zydeco nights, this CD might just convince you to make the trip! As Nathan is fond of saying, "It ain't nothing but a party!" Recorded on January 8th & 9th, 1997. |
| Chris Ardoin and Double Clutchin'
The grandson of Bois Sec Ardoin (cousin of legendary Amedee Ardoin) and son of Lawrence "Black" Ardoin, Chris has ventured with a vengence into 'nouveau' zydeco with a distintive double clutchin, funky ' style. Chris started playing accordian at age 4
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| Lynn August Blind accordionist Lynn August blends the blues/gospel style of zydeco a la Clifton Chenier with a unique emphasis on the vocals and lyrics to create a melodic style distinctly his own yet firmly footed in the Zydeco traditions.
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| Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie
Son of zydeco legend, John Delafose, Geno stays closer to his traditional Creole heritage than most of his zydeco contemporaries, performing occassionally with new generation Cajun musicians such as Christine Balfa, Dirk Powell and Steve Riley.
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| Thomas "Big Hat" Fields & his Footstomping Zydeco Band From Church Point, LA, Fields plays long, hypnotic dance grooves in medium to fast tempos. His West Coast tour in February 1996 played to enthusiastic audiences. "Yeah, you right".
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| Joe Simien
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| Terrance Simien If you can imagine Sam Cooke and Aaron Neville all shook up with a high-energy Zydeco accordionist, you might get a sense of what Terrance Simien sounds like. A dynamic performer and gifted vocalist, Simien blends pop, rock, soul, gospel and blues with the Zydeco tradition to create his own unique sound.
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| Boozoo Chavis and the Majic Sounds From Lake Charles, LA, Boozoo is considered one of the fathers of Zydeco music and his compositions, including his 1954 hit, Paper in my Shoe, Uncle Bud, Dog Hill and Motor Dude Special are standards of the repetoire.
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| Zydeco Joe and Laissez Le Bon Temp Rouler Band Zydeco Joe is the great unkept secret of the current SW
Lousiana music scene. Joe is a gifted accordian player, talented singer and
charismatic performer whose music leans toward the traditional zydeco style.
All songs, with one exception
are written by Zydeco Joe.
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| Rosie Ledet
One of the few woman taking center stage, and playing accordian, on the contemporary zydeco scene, Rosie writes and performs her own material, which is feisty and full of sexual double-entrendres.
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| J. Paul, Jr. and the Zydeco Nubreedz.
Houston-based J. Paul, Jr. is a charismatic performer with a strong stage presence, J. J. Paul's recordings show the influence of gospel, hip-hop, r&b, soul, concept albums, and traditional zydeco.
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| Brian Jack and the Zydeco Gamblers Another up-and-coming Houston band featuring dynamic performances and catchy tunes.
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Compilations
| Alligator Stomp, (5 Volumes) Rhino Records These collections are a mixture of Cajun and Zydeco, traditional and modern, a great introduction to the music. |
| Cajun Dance Favorites, Swallow Records (SW-6104-2) A collection of classic Cajun two-steps and waltzes performed by D. L. Menard, Walter Mouton, Belton Richard, Dewey Balfa, Joe Bonsall, Nathan Abshire and others. |
|
 Evangeline
Made, A Tribute to Cajun Music. (Vanguard). An all-star line-up of artists including John Fogerty, Nick
Lowe, Richard Thompson, Linda Ronstadt, David Johansen, Linda Thompson,
Rodney Crowell, Maria McKee, and Patty Griffin pay homage to Cajun culture,
singing entirely in French, on this Vanguard compilation. Produced by Ann
Savoy, these 'brand name' musicians are supported by a "Who's Who" of
Cajun musicians (including Michael Doucet, Steve Riley, Mark Savoy, Sonny
Landreth, David Greeley, Dirk Powell, Christine Balfa, David Doucet,
Kevin Wimmer, Jimmy Breaux, Mitchell Reed and Sam Broussard) and the
resultant recording stays true to the Cajun sound. |
| Rockin' Zydeco Party, Maison de Soul (MDS 1049-2) An excellent introduction to Zydeco featuring tracks by Boozoo Chavis, Rockin' Sidney, Beau Jocque, Keith Frank, John Delafose, Clifton Chenier, Lynn August and more. |
| Passion Fish - Original Soundtrack, Daring Records CD 3008 A traditional Cajun & Zydeco collection, featuring the Balfa Brothers, John Delafose, Willis Prudhomme and others |
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Music from the Zydeco Kingdom (Rounder ROUN 11579)
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|  Allons
en Louisiane -- The Rounder Records Guide to Cajun Music, Zydeco and South
Louisiana is a multi-media 2-CD set
that includes an audio CD that samples many of the top artists on the C/z
scene plus a CD ROM containing movies, interviews and photos covering a wide
range of topicson the music and culture. Written and produced by Scott
Billington, who has been recording the music of Louisiana for the past
fifteen years, the set is a great introduction to the pleasures that are
uniquely South Louisiana's. Order here (from
Amazon.com) |
| Putumayo
presents Zydeco.
is a new album from Putumayo, a record label specializing in World
Music. Zydeco features Rosie Ledet, The Creole Zydeco Farmers,
Keith Frank, Boozoo Chavis, and Beau Jocque among others. I've
always been impressed with Putumayo's world music compilations (one of my
favorites is Mali to Memphis) and their take on zydeco is a
worthy addition, and exellent introduction to the genre. Check out "Hoochie
Coochie" by Joe KK and Zydeco Force or "Stay In or Stay Out
- Pass the Dutchie" by Chris Ardoin & Double Clutchin', and see if
you can remain seated. |
