Solstice '08: Beau Soleil

Dan Wiznitzer asked me to pass on the following:

Grammy nominated artists Buckwheat Zydeco and Lost Bayou Ramblers are bringing the Bayou to Baltimore on Saturday, June 21 for a special benefit performance at the Maryland Science Center. The fund raising celebration “Solstice ’08: Beau Soleil” will include authentic Cajun food, an open bar, and dancing to two of the hottest Zydeco and Cajun performers around – all overlooking Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. “Solstice ’08: Beau Soleil” begins at 8:00 pm and proper dress (“sophisticated casual”) is required. Tickets are $125 per person and include all food, drinks, and valet parking. Tickets must be purchased in advance. All proceeds benefit the Maryland Science Center’s education and outreach programs. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Maryland Science Center at 410-545-5940 or visit mdsci.org

Miles of Milestones

While I've been busy keeping myself out of trouble (something that's harder and harder to do), a number of milestones have gone by without proper mention.

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First off, Jim Olivier--the long-time host of KLFY's Passe Patout program--died recently. As a French-speaking host of a morning show that regularly featured Cajun and Zydeco bands every weekday morning, Olivier was probably one of the most visible ambassadors of Cajun and Creole cultures during the 70s and 80s.

In addition to his role as host and ambassador, Olivier was also a musician in his own right, with a number of hits to his name. Coincidentally, Swallow records released Olivier's greatest hits only a few months prior to his passing.

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On a happier note, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys have reached their own milestone. On May 6, Rounder Records will release their own "Best of" album in recognition of the band's 20th year of performing and recording.

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Finally, the torch is being passed to a new generation in the Castille clan. Acclaimed fiddler Hadley Castille's grand-daughter has released her debut album, Cajun and Texas Swing. Herman Fuselier reports that Sarah Jayde Williams marks the 4th generation of musicians in the Castille family. And just in case one supposes that grand-dad is fading into the woodwork, Hadley Castille has plans to release a Cajun fiddling instructional DVD through Mel Bay Publications.

Zydeco Goes to Haiti

The Times of Acadiana offered an interesting article this week on an initiative to bring Zydeco music to Haiti.

Acadiana and its culture have often been described as "south of the south" and as "the northern rim of the Caribbean," and this trip--orchestrated by the Lafayette-based Southern Development Foundation--underscores some of the ties between south Louisiana and its Caribbean neighbors.

In a previous entry, I've already noted the Afro-Caribbean roots of songs like "Colinda." And the culinary contributions of black Creoles who arrived in Louisiana by way of the Caribbean are easy to see in even the most "Cajun" of dishes--like gumbo.

Among the participants on the trip are Cedric Watson of the Pine Leaf Boys and accordionist Corey Porche. And for those in the Lafayette area, the trip will be documented on film and will be shown on April 22 at the Greenhouse in Lafayette.

The Roots of It All

Now that the Grammy roller coaster has come to an end, it's good to see this recent article from Herman Fuselier about Amédé Ardoin.

Amédé Ardoin is a reminder--as was all of the angst over Grammy politics--that the greats are seldom recognized for what they are. And Ardoin was nothing if not unrecognized. He was a popular hire for house dances, and he was a skilled songwriter. His collaborations with Dennis McGee produced Cajun and Creole standards that can be heard any night of the week in dance halls or private homes. As Herman Fuselier points out, songs like the "Eunice Two-Step" or the "Opelousas Waltz" are now staples in the Cajun and Creole music repertoire.

Unfortunately, race played a large part in Ardoin's neglect and, eventually, his demise. The story of his end has become a sad legend: wiping his brow with a handkerchief offered by a white woman, Ardoin became the target of a group of white men at that dance.

Severely beaten, Ardoin's life quickly spun downward as he was placed in a mental institution in Pineville. As the legend goes, he died there and is buried on the premises in an unmarked grave.

In all, it's a humbling story from Louisiana's troubled history and one to give pause to anyone troubled over a Grammy snub.

Congratulations to Terrance Simien

Congratulations to Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience for their win in the first Cajun/Zydeco Grammy Category!

It's a relief and a pleasure to know that they'll be bringing the first Grammy devoted to Cajun and Zydeco back to the music's home soil.

Coz Fontenot Fund

As many of you may have already heard, Cajun vocalist and musician Coz Fontenot recently suffered the total loss of his home to fire. Adding insult to injury, the fire occurred on Christmas Eve.

For those who would like to help Mr. Fontenot, the Pine Leaf Boys have set up a PayPal donation site available through the following link. Also, for those who prefer not to use PayPal, this link also provides a direct mailing address for Coz Fontenot.

...And the Grammy Nominees Are...

It's an historic first: here are the inaugural nominees for the first Grammy Award for Cajun/Zydeco music.

- Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie, Le Cowboy Creole

- Lisa Haley, King Cake

- Lost Bayou Ramblers, Live à la Blue Moon

- Pine Leaf Boys, Blues De Musicien

- Racines, Racines

--Roddie Romero and the Hub City All Stars, The La Louisianne Sessions

--Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience, Live! Worldwide

Stocking Stuffers

Now that the turkey has been put away (either in iceboxes or down gullets), it's time we turn our thoughts to those gift-giving holidays looming in front of us like a more saccharin version of death itself.

Herman Fuselier suggests using the long list of Grammy eligible Louisiana artists as a buying guide.

Of course, if that special someone is the impulsive type who always buys his own toys (yes, I'm talking about myself), you might try a gift that's hot off the presses. R. Reese Fuller of Lafayette's Independent Weekly suggests the new book by Barry Ancelet and Philip Gould. Titled One Generation at a Time: Biography of a Cajun and Creole Music Festival, Ancelet and Gould's new title chronicles the history and evolution of Festivals Acadiens from its inception through the 2006 celebration. This history is punctuated with posters from past festivals as well as photographs from Philip Gould and David Simpson.

For that really special someone (again, I'm talking about myself), you could even go to the trouble of having the book signed at one of several author signings planned throughout the holiday season.

Entries for Inaugural Grammy in Cajun/Zydeco Category

As reported in The Daily Advertiser, here are the initial entries for nomination in the inaugural Cajun/Zydeco Grammy Category:

All Night Long, Acadien Cajun Band
MVP, Chris Ardoin
Cajun Fiddles, The Basin Brothers
I Know Dat's Right, Jamie Bergeron and the Kickin' Cajuns
Blues à Catin, Bonsoir Catin
From Love to Laughter & Good Times, Jackie Caillier, Ivy Dugas & Cajun Cousins
Valse A Deux Temps, The Cajun Strangers
Zydeco on the Radio, Captain Squeeze and the Zydeco Moshers
Le Cowboy Creole, Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie
Undisputed, Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band
King Cake, Lisa Haley
Live at the CFMA, Hunter Hayes
Underdog, Brian Jack and the Zydeco Gamblers
Be My Girlfriend, Guyland Leday and Zydeco Family and Friends
Don't Shut Me Out, Corey Ledet et Son Groupe Zydeco
Worldwide, Lil Brian and the Travelers
Doin' It Big Time, Lil Nathan and the Zydeco Big Timers
Live à la Blue Moon, Lost Bayou Ramblers
Pushing Your Luck, Charles Mann
Booty Zydeco, Travis Matte and the Zydeco Kingpins
Legendary Cajun Accordionist, Don Montoucet
Blues de Muisicien, Pine Leaf Boys
Racines, Racines
The La Louisianne Sessions, Roddie Romero and the Hub City All-Stars
Who Want It!, Same Ol' 2 Step
Live! Worldwide, Terrance Simien and Zydeco Experience
Long Roads & Bloodshot Eyes, Dennis Stroughmatt and Creole Stomp
Nothin Feels Like This, Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble
Zydeco Lover, T-Broussard and the Zydeco Steppers
French Creole House Dance, Goldman Thibodeaux with Steve and Donna Bing
Three of a Kind - A Tribute to Clifton Chenier, Tri Trip Trio
Allons Boire Un Coup: A Collection of Cajun & Creole Drinking Songs, Various

From this list of "entries," five will be selected as official "nominees." In turn, one of those five nominees will win the Grammy.

Recap: Festivals Acadiens

Another Festivals Acadiens has come and gone and, unlike so many in recent years, the 2007 celebration enjoyed glorious weather.

I was hoping to offer a photographic retrospective of the festival. But between my plain inability with a camera and my disinclination to live my life from behind a lens, I didn't garner a whole lot of good shots. Instead, I have my usual collection of blurred, underexposed, and overexposed pics.

Festivals Acadiens 2007 honored Marc and Ann Savoy and lived up to the high expectations that past successes have led many to expect of this annual celebration of Cajun and Creole culture.

On the musical front, The Pine Leaf Boys (pictured above) were recording their festival performance for an upcoming live album, and now my little family can claim that "we were there when...." Meanwhile, Joe Hall, Bonsoir Catin, Balfa Toujours, the Lost Bayou Ramblers, the Savoy Family Band, and Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys (among others) lived up to their billing--as they usually do.

At the artisans' tents, I was able to take one of Jay Miller's new Bon Cajun accordions for a (sweet) test drive. I finally scored the Montoucet 'tit-fer which I had been searching for, unsuccessfully, for months. And I also picked up a copy of the new Louisiana Folk Masters CD of Women's Home Music plus an advance copy of the Savoy Family Band's upcoming Turn Loose But Don't Let Go.

The most intereresting part of the festival, though, is all of the opportunity for interaction between fans and musicians. Not only are there jam sessions with musicians like Christine Balfa or Sheryl Cormier and instructional seminars by Kristi Guillory, Feufollet, the Lost Bayou Ramblers and a host of others; you also see musicians swinging their kids on the playground between sets (that was Dirk Powell) or dancing right beside you. It's a comforting reminder that, despite a new Grammy category and growing international popularity, this music is still a true folk music--performed for neighbors and friends.

Accordion--The Movie

Let's Polka--the all-things-accordion website and blog--is reporting that a remake of the Italian film Bread and Tulips is in the works.

In the original, a young woman finds herself in Venice where she finds happiness in the folds of a squeezebox.

The remake--which will be called The Accordion--is reported to be set in Post-Katrina New Orleans and will star Felicity Huffman.

The good news: accordions will get some good press.

The bad news: another movie is going to indiscriminately mix up Cajun culture with New Orleans Creole culture. (Imagine Huffman "belting out" Bosco Stomp on a piano accordion).

SqueezeBox Blog Milestones

The Cajun SqueezeBox Blog has reached two new milestones this week. On September 3, the blog had its 1000th visitor and, yesterday, it received its 2500th visit.

Once again, I'd like to offer my thanks to all of you. I will continue to relay Cajun music news as well as accordion links. And I will continue to provide tablature for songs (though perhaps not at the same frequency--lately, I've been trying to fine-tune songs rather than learn new ones).

Additionally, I'll soon be publishing excerpts of an interview I recently conducted with Ray Abshire. During the interview, Ray offered his perspective on learning the accordion, and he gave some interesting and original advice on developing a unique accordion style.

Stay tuned!

Mamou Playboys School of Music Holds First (Annual?) Commencement

For each hot and muggy Tuesday throughout the month of August, a number of amateur but enthusiastic Cajun musicians had the opportunity to learn from the best, all courtesy of an event organized and sponsored by Louisiana Folk Roots.

As part of "The Mamou Playboys School of Music," Steve Riley, David Greely, and Sam Broussard took small groups of accordionists, fiddlers, and guitarists through the ins-and-outs of some of their songs.

And, as a graduation ceremony, each participant would perform as a member of the Mamou Playboys during the final class.

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I was lucky enough to be in town for the first week of classes and sat in on the accordion session, in which Steve took us through "La Pointe aux Pins." It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and one that underscores the skill and dedication of our local musicians.

It was also a pleasure to meet Steve, and later that week, to hear him and the Playboys at the Blue Moon. And for my son, pictured above with Steve, it was a chance to meet one of his favorite musicians.

Zydeco: Yesterday and Today

It sounds like the beginning of a long and over-complicated joke, but what do you get when you combine Amedé Ardoin, Clifton Chenier, the Great Flood of 1927, exile in "Grand Texas," and the Virgin Mary?

According to William Johnson of the Opelousas Daily World, the result of such a cocktail is nothing other than Zydeco.

This weekend marks the 25th anniversary of the Original Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival in Plaisance, Louisiana. The Zydeco Festival is perhaps the biggest weekend of the year for Zydeco's fans and musicians.

Back in 1981, residents of the Opelousas area feared that Zydeco was dying out. To preserve their music, they organized the inaugural Zydeco festival. And the fact that the festival is celebrating its silver anniversary is a testament to the efforts of the festival's founders and to Zydeco's staying power.

This year's festival promises to be a worthwhile event, with performances that underscore the history of Zydeco, LaLa music, and Juré. And of course, the Zydeco of today will also be front and center.

Creole Accordions

Though Cajun music arose thanks to the collaboration of a Creole accordionist and a Cajun fiddler, it is an unfortunate fact that tensions exist between lovers of Cajun music and those who adore Creole music.

Often, advocates of Creole culture and music have voiced misgivings over the blanket use of the term "Cajun" for all of Louisiana's unique cultures and musics, feeling that the popularity of "Cajun" culture threatened to erase their own unique identity.

Fortunately, though, Creole culture is also seeing a resurgence lately. While "Bois Sec" and Canray may have passed on, we are witnessing a new generation of Creole musicians who are turning away from the higher profile life of contemporary zydeco in favor of older Creole forms. Musicians like Joe Hall, Nolton Simien, and Mary Broussard have made the switch, taking advantage of the University of Louisiana's music archives, in an effort to renew the tradition on albums like La Danse Finit Pas. Likewise, James Adams, Cedric Watson, and Ed Poullard have released Les Amis Creoles, an album that offers a fresh look at La La music and the roots of both the Cajun and Creole sound.

As a member of the famed Poullard family, it is perhaps to be expected that Ed Poullard find his way into music. But Ed has expanded his involvement in music to include a new, breakthrough role: creating his own brand of accordions. Making use of advice and instruction from Larry Miller and Jude Moreau, Ed Poullard has given his "Poullard Accordion" a worthy pedigree. In fact, Poullard's efforts have recently won him the attention of the Houston Chronicle, which offered a profile of the Creole musician working in their backyard.

Poullard also maintains a MySpace page that includes a slideshow of his beautiful accordions. And contact information for Poullard Accordions is also available through my Cajun/Creole Accordion Builder list.

Behind the Scenes...

In the world of Cajun music, it's often easy to forget that, beyond the people onstage, a host of others are working behind the scenes to promote the music and the culture. Recently, two of those people received due recognition.

At a recent tribute to Cajun Music DJs, Pete Bergeron of KRVS 88.7 was honored for his efforts to promote Cajun music and Cajun French. Bergeron's "Bonjour Louisiane" morning music show has been a staple on the University of Louisiana-Lafayette's public radio station for 27 years. And, for Bergeron, that's just a small part of what he does to promote his culture (let's not forget he just won the "Le Cajun" award for Best Song of the Year).

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Also recently, Barry Ancelet paused during his hosting duties at the Liberty Theatre's "Rendez-Vous des Cajuns" show to recognize a man whose face is largely unknown but who helps the rest of us put faces to the Cajun and Zydeco music we enjoy. David Simpson, camera in hand, is a regular at "Rendez-Vous des Cajuns" and at local festivals. For years, he has painstakingly documented performances and chronicled the evolution of Cajun and Zydeco music. His website, "Contemporary Louisiana Cajun, Creole, and Zydeco Musicians," is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the music of Louisiana.

Both of these men deserve our thanks for their tireless efforts.

And the CFMA "Le Cajun" Winners Are...

The results are in for the 2007 Cajun French Music Association's annual "Le Cajun" awards. Here is your list of winners:

Band of the Year: Pine Leaf Boys

Best Accordionist: Jason Frey

Best Fiddler: Al Berard

Best Male Vocalist: Kevin Naquin

Song of the Year: "Ma Petite Ange"--Kevin Naquin & Pete Bergeron

Album of the Year: La Musique--Pine Leaf Boys

People's Choice: Old Style Cajun Music--Al Berard and Jason Frey

Prix Dehors de Nous: The Cajun Stangers in Madison, WI for Valse A Deux Temps (Swallow)

An Acadian Brand 'Tit Fer?

Nothing speaks to the rural origins of Cajun music more than the 'tit fer. The best ones are made from the tines of old hay rakes, and thus they are inextricably tied to the agrarian roots of the Cajun and Creole music traditions.

Both the striking wand and the triangle itself are made from one tine, and craftsmen like Don Montoucet (who made the 'tit fer pictured here) temper and mould the tine to get the exact sound we all recognize.

Unfortunately, as the supply of hay rakes has dried up, good 'tit fers have recently become scarce. Plus, 'tit fer craftsmen like Don Montoucet and Larry Miller are retiring.

Things aren't all bad, though. While visiting the Savoy Music Center, Marc Savoy--builder of the famed Acadian accordion--told me that a new supply of old hay rakes had been found. Marc plans on using these tines to fashion his own line of 'tit fers in the near future.

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For a bit more on Don Montoucet and his famed 'tit fers, take a look at this New York Times article: "A Cajun Craftsman Preserves the Hallowed Ping of History."

Holiday

I will be taking a brief, one-week break from blogging this week. During this time, I hope to dig up a few items of interest to Cajun Accordion and Cajun music enthusiasts. And more tablatures are on the way, as well.

In the meantime, it's not too late to start planning for your own holiday. National Day of the Acadians is August 15. In Acadiana, a number of activities are planned. Likewise, Acadians at Grand Pré are also gearing up for the big day.

Accordion Builders & Whiskey River Landing

As some of you may have noticed, my updated list of Accordion Builders is slowly coming along.

Seeking out names and numbers has been a slow process since the most up-to-date lists out there are almost a decade old.

It's also been a sobering and sometimes depressing job. A number of well-known builders have either gone into retirement or have passed away. Because of this, I decided to add a "No Longer Building" section to the bottom of the list, and it has grown longer than I had hoped.

In the midst of my funk over so many passings, Albert sent this picture of the late Dick Richard holding one of his famed Pointe Noire accordions. Seeing this picture put a smile on my face. So, thank you, Albert.
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In other news...

A few weeks ago, I pointed out a couple of articles about revered dancehalls and clubs that were seeing hard times.

This week, we get a happier perspective as Herman Fuselier reports on the resurgence of Whiskey River Landing in Lafayette's Daily Advertiser.