Mary Jane Broussard is believed to be the only female Creole-style accordionist of professional status. She hails from a musical family hotbed that includes the Ardoins on one side and the Franks on the other. Despite such a pedigree, it wasn’t until she became a young mother that she taught herself to play accordion, modeling [...]
Joe Hall and the Louisiana Cane Cutters’ last album, 2009’s Live at Nunu’s, was a show of brute force as the band raged through an amped-up set of Creole-Cajun chestnuts. Hall doesn’t play quite the same hand this time but deals something closer to the heart: a tribute to grandfather “King” Ned. The hard-charging title [...]
The overwhelming success of Harry Choates’ immortal “Jole Blon” in 1946 resulted in national notoriety and evolution into a country staple of sorts and the genesis of J.D. Miller’s record empire. Though the Crowley businessman probably wasn’t interested in how many units the Choates hit moved per se, what did pique his interest was the [...]
Dennis McGee (1893-1989) is perhaps Cajun music’s most influential fiddler, an early recording pioneer who contributed a sizable repertoire that illustrated what pre-20th-Century Cajun music was like prior to the advent of the accordion. Between 1929 and 1934, he recorded what would become standards, most notably with legendary Creole accordionist Amédé Ardoin and longtime fellow [...]
The debate over of what is and is not traditional Cajun music will likely rage on until judgment day, but credit Les Amies Louisianaises for putting a fresh spin on things. Unlike most groups that revolve around the accordion-fiddle axis, the Lake Charles-based women’s group is instead a quartet of vocalists who’ve perfected a signature [...]
Lil Pookie’s first release in more than a decade not only represents the comeback of a former child prodigy but a renewed sense of vigor for a talented front man. Pookie essentially is the Sensations—he wrote all 15 songs, tracked all vocals and played all instruments while temporarily living in the Bay Area. The only [...]
If it wasn’t for a devastating fire that torched Jamie Bergeron’s house and claimed clothes, accordions, vehicles and the lives of pets, Bergeron would have released a new CD way before this. But as evidenced here, he’s resilient, fronting an equally enthusiastic dance band that’s more an honest synthesis of south Louisiana’s musical potpourri than [...]
Jeffery Broussard may have once spearheaded the most influential band of modern zydeco with Zydeco Force, but these days he’s on a different mission: to present the Creole cultural music prior to its adulteration of floor-rattling, urbanized sounds. His second album makes that point well, showcasing selections (“Allons a Lafayette,” “Prier pour moi,” “Madeleine”) that [...]
“We’re gonna tear it up,” Joe Hall says. It’s not a Charlie Sheen rant, but it’s obvious that the burly Creole accordionist is pumped up about this year’s Jazz Fest. Hall and his Louisiana Cane Cutters are releasing their fifth CD, The $30 Dobb, which should further establish them as worthy practitioners of Creole music. [...]
If everyone were like Horace Trahan, there would be no mold to break. As a teenager, he was heralded as the Second Coming of Iry LeJeune, the accordionist responsible for reviving post-World War II Cajun music. A few years later Trahan crossed over into zydeco, scoring hits with “The Butt Thing” and “High School Breakdown” [...]
