Last November I was invited to speak on knowledge management at the Banking Administrative Institute’s (BAI) conference in New Orleans. I was fortunate to arrive several hours before our team dinner. So I went on a shopping spree in the Quarter after lunch at the Acme Oyster House, 724 Iberville Street, founded in 1910. It has gotten a little touristy from when my uncle used to take us in the 1950s but the food is still great. I always manage to go once whenever I come to New Orleans, getting a shrimp po-boy and some gumbo with an Abita Amber. You can take a virtual tour on the Acme Oyster House site. They used to have an oyster-cam so you could watch them shuck the oysters live but it has moved.
Next, I went to the New Orleans School of Cooking, 524 St. Louis Street, and loaded up a box to ship home. They have a mail order service, as well. I ate some of their pralines for desert right then as they do not last long without perservatives.
Finally, I headed to the Tower Records, 408 N Peters Street, by the Jax Brewery. I knew from prior trips that they have a large collection of local music. I meet someone at the help desk in the local music area who seemed about my age and very knowledgeable. I asked him to come from behind the counter and show me his personal favorites for a number of artists I knew. Then, I asked him to name some more people I did not know and pick his favorites. Here are his picks in the Cajun and zydeco category. I have listened to them all many times and recommend every one. Next week, I will discuss his picks for New Orleans Blues, R&B, and Funk.
We were lucky to hear Clifton Chenier in 1989 in New Orleans shortly before he died He came to the Maple Leaf Bar that night and played with a younger zydeco group. Between sets he sat near us at the bar and the bar tender told us he had recently won a Grammy. We got his tape the next day at the Tower Records mentioned above. Clifton and Boozoo Chavis were the early pioneers of zydeco in the 1950s. The recommendation from my personal shopper: “Bogalusa Boogie,” considered one of the finest recording by Clifton and his Red Hot Band. It is a driving collection and in contrast, there is his “Clifton Chenier Sings The Blues,” much more laid back.
We first heard Nathan and his group at a Cajun festival in Rhode Island, along with a full day of other groups. They stood out. Nathan Williams, from Lafayette, Louisiana has given himself the nickname, "The Zydeco Hog.” Our critic’s pick was “Let's Go!,” Nathan's seventh recording for Rounder Records. In it Nathan's mix of lyrics and rhythms are infused with contemporary arrangements. My personal shopper also recommended, “I’m a Zydeco Hog,” recorded live at the Rock ‘n Bowl Lanes in New Orleans, a bowling alley devoted to live music.
Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers
Beau is the leader of trend in modern zydeco which blends traditional Creole sounds with contemporary elements of rap and hip-hop. According to his site he also loves to cook in his kitchen in Kinder, Louisiana. Our critic picked. “Git It, Beau Jocque,” recorded live at Slim's Y-Ki-Ki Lounge in Opelousas and Harry's Lounge in Breaux Bridge.
Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band
Chubby was born in Lafayette, LA raised in Church Point, LA. He is the third generation zydeco artist. As a child, he learned the music by listening to his father Roy Carrier and his grandfather Warren Carrier. His 1996 recording on Blind Pig records, “Who Stole the Hot Sauce” is our critics pick. His group is a great party band that frequently plays in Southern Louisiana.
Buckwheat Zydeco has achieved a lot of commercial success and recorded some very well produced CDs. They are more well known that most zydeco bands and have been the opening act for Eric Clapton (including entire North American tour and a 12-night stand at London's Royal Albert Hall), U-2, Robert Cray, Los Lobos. Buckwheat Zydeco also played at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the 1996 Democratic Convention and with the Boston Pops. Our critic picked their first live CD, “Buckwheat Zydeco: Down Home Live!" played during his annual Thanksgiving show at El Sid O's in Lafayette, La.
Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys
Here is a great traditional French speaking Cajun group like Bruce Daigrepont, I recommended last week. Our critic picked “Bon Rêve,” their latest album, which was subsequently nominated for a Grammy in 2004. Here’s what Dr. Barry Ancelet, professor of folklore at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, has to say about Bon Rêve:
"It's the Sgt. Pepper's of Cajun music. It's so strong in so many areas: performance/musicianship, the poetry, the conception, the whole album working together as a sort of a thematic unit. It's an incredible effort. What's really remarkable is that they're sort of competing with themselves. They're competing with their own last effort, and that's got to be hard to do. And yet they keep pulling it off."
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