Wednesday, July 26, 2006

American music made in Louisiana

Doucet and Beausoliel are looking for some fais do-do


By DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writer

Beausoliel

Among the most lovely of American music are the French-influenced Cajun tunes that evolved from the unique culture of southern Louisiana. The Wood River Valley is fortunate to have the chance, courtesy of the Sun Valley Center for Arts, to see one of the best Cajun bands in the country. Michael Doucet will bring his Beausoleil to River Run, Thursday, July 27.

The band is comprised of founder, Doucet, on fiddle; his brother, David, on guitar; Acadian accordion player Jimmy Breaux; Mitch Reed on bass; fiddle and percussionist Billy Ware; and drummer Tommy Alesi.

"Alesi broke both wrists two months ago and hasn't missed a date yet," Micheal Doucet said. "He's the Italian stallion."

The fact that Cajun music has extended beyond Louisiana is largely due to Beausoleil. They are legendary in American Folk Music circles. To have such a band here is akin to having those other musical giants among us, such as Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson.

"We were just a bunch of friends playing the music of our grandparents' generation," Doucet said. A fiddler, Doucet and his "podnas" played at small bars. One day in 1974, a promoter walked in, having heard there were some young kids playing Cajun music.

He asked them to go to France for two weeks to play.

"We stayed six months, and in 1976 he asked us to come back. Now we needed a name." Doucet said.

Their band name, which literally means "good sun," is a reference to a fertile region in Nova Scotia where, in the 17th century, French speaking Acadians lived. Conflicts with the French and British forced them to migrate south to Louisiana where they became known as Cajuns. An ancestor of Doucet's was a renowned resistance fighter in those conflicts. Beausoleil cut its first record in 1976 and released it only in France. They made their American debut the following year with "The Spirit of Cajun Music."

"This is the 30th year of the group," Doucet said. "We have a new record out, 'Live in Louisiana.' It was funny. We thought we'd play one song from each of our records over the course of five dates and we have over 20 records, one song from each record equals 100 songs, so we have a couple more CDs to release. It's never been better for us. We've played all 50 states more than once, like Idaho which is always nice to come back to."

Despite those numbers, Doucet is being slightly modest. In fact, the band plays all over the world, has received numerous Grammy nominations and awards, has played on movie soundtracks such as "The Big Easy," "Passion Fish," and the Cajun music documentary "J'ai Été au Bal," as well as composing the music for "Belizaire the Cajun." They also played at Jimmy Carter's inauguration and, in 1988, Doucet received the first annual Clifton Chenier Award as the finest musician in French-speaking Louisiana.

This spring, the band was named the Best Cajun Band at The Big Easy Awards, and Doucet was one of only 12 artists awarded a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.

"It's amazing to be a part of that. We sought out people who knew the history. I taught at a college level. It was always my intention to keep it going creatively. People think folk music just falls from the sky."

He added that he and BeauSoliel try to support young musicians who work in the same genre such as the Pine Leaf Boys with Wilson Savoy and Mitch Reed.

"It's a folk culture. The culture was totally imported en masse," he said. "Somehow they continued to maintain that culture, and speak French. The music was created amongst these people. It's really American music, made in Louisiana."

Doucet said that, for people who aren't familiar with the genre, a good place to start is by listening to genre pioneers such as Dennis McGee and Amédé Ardoin.

"Eighty percent of their repertoire is still played today," he said. Others he mentioned are Clifton Chenier and Doug Kershaw, He also suggested watching "J'ai Été au Bal."

Beausoliel's concerts incorporate all of the above, traditional tunes, new compositions and a bit of everything.

"We've never used a song list—not about to start now," he said. "It usually starts with early music and we work up to cover the whole base."

No matter what songs, albums or legendary musicians they're tapping into, Cajun music is, of course, meant for dancing.

So get ready—one-step, two-step, waltzes and the traditional Cajun dance, "Fais do-do."




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