In an article for Lafayette’s The Advertiser, Zydeco Crossroads contributor Herman Fuselier highlights a new documentary called By the River of Babylon. The film airs tomorrow evening on WORLD Channel‘s America Reframed program. It will be available worldwide at worldchannel.org beginning Wednesday, June 17th. Read more
Inspired by John and Alan Lomax’s field recordings of the 1930s, Alex Steyermark and Lavinia Jones Wright began The 78 Project in 2011 as a way of connecting a thread from those early archival recordings to contemporary musicians. Armed with a 1930s Presto direct-to-acetate recorder and many painstakingly-crafted acetate disks, the Philadelphia area filmmakers travel across the country to encounter musicians of all styles. Read more.
By now we know the difference between Cajun and zydeco music. As Michael Tisserand put it in our interview with him, “The difference between Cajun and zydeco music is zydeco music reflects the Creole origins of its performers, heavily influeced by African Carribean and African music. Cajun music reflects the Acadian white Cajuns coming down from current day Nova Scotia.” Read more.
Outstanding! Here’s a rare video of Clifton Chenier With CJ Chenier on saxophone, Cleveland Chenier on rubboard, and the late Harry Hypolite on guitar.
Soul Creole performs “Madeleine” at Blue Moon Saloon in Lafayette, LA on October 30, 2014, a clip from the forthcoming Zydeco Crossroads documentary film by Robert Mugge.
Credit: Zydeco dancing at the Blue Moon Saloon | photo by John Vettese
Zydeco isn’t just all about the music, it’s also all about the dancing. Check out Jambalaya Magazine‘s list of the five best Zydeco dancing videos on YouTube and get ready for the Zydeco Crossroads Dance Party on 12/6. Read more.
Nathan Williams | photo by Rick Olivier via www.spartanindependent.com
Music draws inspiration from everywhere, including the natural world. Popular music has called on animals from Big Mama Thorton’s “Hound dog” to Ylvis’s “What Does the Fox Say?” and Zydeco is no exception. Read more.