CSPS debut | Since forming in
1975, BeauSoleil has pretty much locked up the
crown for best Cajun group anywhere. Fiddler and bandleader Michael Doucet
gave up the study of Romantic poetry for the mission of reviving a musical
tradition that had nearly sunk back into the Louisiana bayou. Starting with
traditional Cajun as sort of a roux, BeauSoleil blends in elements of
zydeco, New Orleans jazz, Tex-Mex, country and blues to create a fiery yet
mouth-watering gumbo.
With Alligator Purse, their 29th
release, BeauSoleil’s evolution continues. From “Les Ognions” (a Creole jazz
tune featuring Roswell Rudd’s free jazz
BeauSoleil:
Jimmy Breaux (accordion), Billy Ware (percussion), Tommy Alesi (drums),
Michael Doucet (violin, vocals), Mitch Reed (fiddle, bass), David Doucet
(guitar, vocals).
Michael Doucet (violin,
vocals)
trombone stylings) to “La Chanson de
Théogène Dubois” (an a cappella ballad culled from the Lomax archives
transformed through a full blown palm-trees-and-coconuts arrangement), the
band goes for broke. Heavyweights on the record include The Band keyboardist
Garth Hudson; John Sebastian; vocalists Natalie Merchant, Artie and Happy Traum;
banjoist Bill Keith; and electric guitarist Jim Weider. Andy Stein
(Commander Cody, Asleep at the Wheel) stopped by to lay down swooning sax
solos on “Marie.”
BeauSoleil is one of a few groups performing traditional
Louisiana music to win a Grammy Award. L'Amour Ou La Folie (Love Or
Folly), recorded in 1996 and released on Rhino Records, earned the 1997
Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album. In 2005, BeauSoleil’s Gitane
Cajun earned the group its 10th Grammy nomination for Best Traditional
Folk Album.
In 2005, BeauSoleil won the Big Easy Entertainment Award for Best Cajun
Band, the 10th time the band was honored in the 18-year history of the
awards presented by the New Orleans music and entertainment publication
Gambit Weekly. In 2005, Doucet was one of 12 artists awarded a National
Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts.
From The
Grand Ole Opry to Newport Folk, from concert hall to dance floor, the music
of BeauSoleil continues to captivate audiences the world over. :::
Opening for BeauSoleil is guest artist Tim Eriksen
Fri Nov 6
| 8 pm CSPS | 1103 Third St SE | Cedar Rapids $25 + fee in advance | $31 at the door
