Keeping the Tradition Alive
MDS 1087 | 2007
| A brief history...
A hot, new band in Southwest Louisiana's Zydeco scene, Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys, features the accordion mastery and soulful vocals of front man Jeffery Broussard, from the legendary band, Zydeco Force, along with long-time contributor to Cajun and Creole music, fiddle and guitar player, D'Jalma Garnier III. The band delivers great, pack-the-floor renditions of Creole classics as well as their own brand of contemporary Zydeco.
Early Creole music, as played by legends Canray Fontenot on fiddle and Jeffery's father, accordion player Delton Broussard, is experiencing a well-deserved resurgence of interest in Louisiana today.
Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys are taking the next generation's perspective of this music and presenting it with contemporary flair and expertise. With the creation of the band, both D'Jalma and Jeffery see an opportunity to continue creating incredible music and outstanding performances, cultivating and inspiring new generations of Creole zydeco fans.
Reviews...
www.GeezerMusicClub.wordpress.com, February 2008
I've reviewed a lot of Cajun/Zydeco albums in the past, and at some point I usually describe them just as I did in the early part of this sentence combining them as Cajun/Zydeco. But it's not just me. The people behind the Grammys recently announced a new category: Best Zydeco or Cajun Music.
But in spite of a tendency to lump them together, they are still different. Zydeco is generally described as being very similar to Cajun, but with the addition of influences from Creole music. And for those who don't know, Creoles are usually defined as black and multi-racial descendants of French and Spanish immigrants.
Having said all that, the fact is that most South Louisiana musicians regularly feature all kinds of music no matter how they bill themselves, and Jeffery Broussard is a prime example of one of the best. Fronting his group, the Creole Cowboys, he's bottled that diverse sound and created a new album, Keeping The Tradition Alive! (The exclamation mark is part of the title - just in case you thought I was getting overly excited.)
Broussard was recently named Accordionist Of The Year at the Zydeco Music And Creole Heritage awards, and there's little doubt that he's the star of the show anytime his band is on stage. With his colorful costumes and trademark toothpick always in place (even when singing), he's a real crowd-pleaser.
This album is a nice mix of swamp music that's impossible to resist, and if your toe doesn't begin tapping then check your circulation, your foot must be asleep. Broussard leads most tracks with his accordion and vocals, but he also picks up the fiddle once in a while. The music varies from traditional, such as "Why You Wanna Make Me Cry," to the instrumental "Creole Zydeco Hot Step," which - in spite of its name - is evocative of pure country music, complete with some brief bits of melodies you might recognize.
That track was my favorite on the album, but a tune that's probably more representative of the album's theme is the similarly-named but completely different "Creole Cowboy Two Step." For this one, Broussard and his group take the traditional Louisiana dance piece and apply the band's own Creole signature.
If you already enjoy South Louisiana swamp music, add this one to your collection. If this type of music is new to you but you're ready to take the plunge, this album is a good place to start.
by BG
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