Okay, well, does what it says on the tin. Only real experience I’ve had with said music is some beausoliel, which I really like. What’s good out there?
Well, I know very little about the music, other than the recent film " Schultze Gets the Blues", which I recommend.
I love Beasoleil, but they aren’t a zydeco band. Michael Doucet (the driving force behind Beausoleil) is more of a cajun music purist who occasionally flirts with other musical forms.
Might as well go to the source and get Rhino Records 2-volume CD of Clifton Chenier, the “King of Zydeco” and the man who pracitcally developed and popularized zydeco music.
Buckwheat Zydeco & Ils Sont Partis Band and Good Rockin’ Dopsie & the Twisters are/were influential zydeco bands.
Since you like Beausoleil, you may like either cajun or zydeco music. Pesonally I prefer cajun music over zydeco, zydeco annoys me after a while, that rub-board grates on my nerves. My fav is **Zachary Richard ** (Doucet’s cousin I think?). Snake Bite Love, is my favorite cd, ‘Cote Blanche Bay’ & ‘Sunset on Louisianne’ favorite song–(not exactly Cajun or Zydeco actually).
I also have a Balfa Brothers and Jo-el Sonnier cds that are more authentic.
Beausoleil is more Cajun than Zydeco, but for a taste of some good modern Zydeco you really can’t go wrong with Geno Delafose or Rosie Ledet (mmmmmm Rosie). Dwayne Dopsie is a monster too!!!
Additional Zydeco albums to suggest:[ul]
[li]Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural CD’s Buckwheat’s Zydeco Party and Taking It Home[/li][li]Collection from Rounder Records titled Zydeco Live(2 CD set)[/ul] [/li]Others from the Cajun side of the fence:[ul]
[li]Alphonse “Bois Sec” Ardoin album Allons Dancer[/li][li]Lawrence “Black” Ardoin album Traditional Creole[/li]Bruce Daigrepont album Stir Up the Roux[/ul]
Queen Ida is a personal favorite.
I thought I liked zydeco, because I liked Beausoleil. So can someone explain the difference between cajun and zydeco?
On the Cajun side of the fence, Savoy-Doucet band. I love Las Harias, but Amazon doesn’t list it. Anything by Beausoleil, Michael Doucet or the Balfa Brothers.
Largely the color of the artist’s skin. There are some musical differences, but I’m not sure I can explain. The use of the washboard is one.
So who is who, and who plays which? I admit I loved the stuff you heard playing on the speakers in every T-shirt and souvenir shop in New Orleans, but I never sought out any cajun or zydeco albums.
Cajun=white. It evokes more of a rural feel. Accordion and fiddle tend to dominate. It is more traditional feeling than zydeco. You would dance a two-step to cajun music. Some Cajun examples include Beausoleil, Balfa Toujours, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, and Bruce Daigrepont.
Zydeco=black. Modern zydeco draws from a larger well of music than cajun (funk, rock, reggae, etc.) and usually has more of an “electric” feel and is dominated by accordion, washboard, and bass. There’s a different rhythmic pattern to the basic zydeco beat, which is hard to explain, but if you’ve heard it you know what I mean. It’s kind of a dash-dot-dot, dash-dot-dot thing. Some zydeco examples include Geno Delafose, Buckwheat Zydeco, Clifton Chenier, and Boozoo Chavis.
Not trying to be funny, but can you really draw a black and white line here to distinguish between the two? Where do the Creole (mixed black and european) fit into the above definitions?
The incredible number of ethnic groups and cultures that have (and do) make up New Orleans has always provided a “melting pot” in regards to such things as music.
someone mentioned a compilation, and I have a few of those and they are really good. I heard some D.L. Menard on one or two and really like him, I forgot to mention him.
I picked these 2 volumes up, older compilations and would highly suggest them:
**J’ai ete au bal Vol. 1 I went to the dance : the Cajun and Zydeco music of Louisiana. **
and Vol 2.
And if you can listen to internet radio, there are a lot of radio stations down in LA that boradcast music programs that are interesting to listen to.
I would say zydeco is a melting pot. The Cajuns I know are pure descendants of the original Acadians. I don’t recall ever seeing non-white faces associated with genuine Cajun music.
Ooh, got links? I’m gonna go look for Lafayette and Eunice stations…
(Nevermind. This looks like the definitive site for Cajun music and radio info.)
And I will second J’ai ete au Bal - lots of good, older recordings.
Incidentally, Zydeco takes its name from the song recognized as first in its genre: Les Haricots sont pas Sales (The Beans Aren’t Salty), which, if you pronounce the first two word fast and sloppy, sounds like “zydeco”. Three different versions of the song appear on J’ai ete au Bal, Vol. 2. A quick history of zydeco music is here. Wikipedia also weighs in.
And a lagniappe for all: the high school that one of my Cajun buddies attended had Jole Blonde (aka Jolie Blon/ Jolie Blonde/ Jole Blon/ Joli Blon) as its fight song. A slow waltz as a fight song… Listen here. Lyrics in French and English here.
Here is the exact link to internet broadcasts of Cajun and zydeco music.
Oooh, thanks for posting this. They have a zydeco festival at the beach bar near my grandparents’ house in Florida, and it’s one of my favorite festivals ever, even though it’s basically just bands and beer. Some of my best family memories are dancing with my aunts, uncles, and cousins at the festival.
Now I can actually pick up some CDs and listen to it here.
E.
Also, New Orleans music is distinct from both Cajun and zydeco. The latter two are definitely more rural, and do not include elements of jazz.
The Big Easy was the movie that first got me turned on to zydeco/cajun/creole music. The soundtrack had a pretty good mix of the different varieties (except for ‘Closer to You’ featuring Dennis Quaid singing - blech). Back in college I took a summer course on Music Theory and my final project involved deconstructing Buckwheat Zydeco’s “Ma 'Tit Fille” so that one holds a special place in my memory.