Amédé Ardoin, complete recordings on Tompkins Square

[Neal Pomea]

http://www.tompkinssquare.com/archives/108

Actually, this stuff is already all available, but it's nice to now have it in one package. The sound is indeed better than what you get on the Arhoolie cd I'm Never Coming Back and the JSP sets I mention below. But the notes do not shed much light on this mysterious musician or his times. Still rough, but I am sure there aren't a lot of sources in good shape. I am enjoying this two cd set!

Cajun Early Recordings, JSP7726, has 2 of Ardoin's 34 songs.

Cajun Country, JSP7749, has 18 of the 34 songs.

Rare and Authentic Cajun, JSP77115, has the other 14 of the 34 songs and they are already remastered by Chris King.

So at most it's possibly 20 of the 34 song newly remastered, but that was enough for me to order it.

The Cajun Country cd in particular has some sound problems, especially on Valse à Austin Ardoin and Valse des Amities. The Arhoolie versions of those two songs (on CD7007, I'm Never Coming Back) do not sound any better to me. King has certainly improved the sound on these two.

Ardoin is recently credited with being the father of Cajun AND Zydeco music, but I personally find that to be an interesting rewrite of history -- not the way it was understood in Louisiana until Arhoolie made Zydeco music marketable outside of Louisiana and Texas.

The musicians Ardoin influenced most are probably Iry LeJeune and Austin Pitre from the Cajun tradition, and of course Alphonse Bois Sec Ardoin and Canray Fontenot from the black Creole tradition. If he influenced Zydeco, I would say it's in the sense that Clifton Chenier pretty much rejected Ardoin's music and wanted to create a new kind of music, which came to be called zydeco, drawing on a vocal musical tradition in Louisiana called juré, blues, and swing. I would call Chenier the real father of zydeco, analogous to the way Bill Monroe is the father of bluegrass. But of course, YMMV!

[kenny weir]

I have the Arhoolie set, plus six cuts Columbia's Cajun Dance Party: Fais Do Do ... so I guess I'll pass on this.

Especially as the Bear Family JD Miller set is about to be released. And the complete Bristol Sessions.

$$$$$$

I agree about the Chenier/Monroe analogy.

But for me Chenier was prettty much a one-off.

I suspect there's a whole other cajunesque zydeco tradition that does draw on Ardoin. Stuff found on the Arhoolie set of early zydeco, for instance. What say you?

Edited March 4, 2011 by kenny weir

[Neal Pomea]

Are we talking about this CD?

I love that first Arhoolie cd on early zydeco! Don't see much connection with Ardoin there, to my mind, other than the songs done by McZiel and Gernger. They're playing in that earlier Creole style, a lot like Ardoin. But if I remember right, on one song Willie Green says he's going to play some French music (Jolie Blonde from the white Cajun repertoire), then jump right back on the rock and roll! That's what those guys considered zydeco -- rock and roll!

Chenier himself has made a lot of contradictory statements about the music, but in the end it's moot, I guess!

The Bear Family set on J.D. Miller will be three volumes, not four. I have heard them and they sound really good!

[kenny weir]

Yeah, you're right. But still, that stuff does seem to have more of a traditional feel to it when compared to the R&B blast of Clifton's Specialty sides, which seemed to come pretty much out of nowhere.

[Neal Pomea]

I think the Lomax Library of Congress field recordings of Cajun and Creole music (1934-37) show the traditional, home-style music that some of the musicians on that early zydeco cd were still drawing from and expanding upon. It was definitely still in the air! I just think that crediting zydeco to Ardoin is something of a marketing stretch.

I agree that the commercial sounding Chenier from the 1950s sounds like he "comes out of nowhere" (or R&B radio!). It was later in the 60s that Chris Strachwitz encouraged him to play more old-sounding stuff, like his classic version of Les Haricots Sont Pas Salé. In person, it was always songs like that one and Josephine and My Baby Don't Wear No Shoes that got the dance crowd really going! Then to follow one of those zydeco numbers with a great blues? Knocked a crowd out!

There's this cd on Rounder to shed light for us:

[kenny weir]

Yeah, that's the sort of connection I'm thinking of.

Sadly, I only saw Clifton once - at JazzFest, late '80s - and it was near the end.

I also liked the first couple of albums by CJ, but that was a whole other thing.

And I dug the hell out of Lynn August's albums - he played up the trad side of things, too, while having a booming R&B sound. Went on the road with him for two gigs in Houston! Is he still around?

Edited March 4, 2011 by kenny weir

[Neal Pomea]

You're right about Lynn August! He was special. I think he is back to playing locally in Lafayette. Didn't realize he was still active, but it looks like he is: http://www.lynnaugustnow.com/

CJ is talented, and he made a big splash for a while. Have you seen Buckwheat Zydeco? More than anyone, like Lynn August he took Clifton's approach and applied it to soul and pop music,but more commercially.

I have certainly lost track of the zydeco scene after Beau Jocque's surprising rise. It's not really been on my listening or live schedule at all in the last 15 years.

One of these days I will put together a list of all Amede's songs and the Cajun standards that grew out of them, a surprising number, and ask anyone who can to try and do the same with Zydeco standards. There is just no real comparison at all! He is the root of Cajun music to a much greater degree, which may sound surprising for a black man in the 20s and 30s!

Edited March 5, 2011 by Neal Pomea

[kenny weir]

More than that, I was thinking today.

I know there were things such as Louis Armstrong and Jimmie Rodgers recording together, but as far as I know the Ardoin sides with Denis McGee are really the first significant, concerted body of work in American music that blurred the colour line.

I first saw Lynn play - drums - a few years before he went zydeco, in a trio with Warren Storm and Willie Tee at a Lafayette motel. Do The Freeze, babay!

Edited March 5, 2011 by kenny weir

[Neal Pomea]

Ok, I went ahead and did that song list thing. These are all the songs, followed by the the songs/titles and artists that made these standards or else just well known recordings. Where I have a blank ________, I don't know of a song associated with it. These are in the Cajun/Creole repertoire. Only a few are done by Zydeco bands at all.

1. Tante Aline: became Viens me Chercher by Iry LeJeune

2. Two Step de Mama: became Elton Two Step by J.B. Fuselier then Lacassine Special by Iry LeJeune

3. Madame Atchen: became Ta Robe Barre by Bois Sec Ardoin and the Carriere Brothers

4. Two Step de Prairie Soileau: Quoi Faire by Bois Sec Ardoin and Canray Fontenot

5. La Valse à Abe: became Convict Waltz by Iry LeJeune, aka 99 Year Waltz

6. Two Step de Eunice: became Jolie Catin by Iry LeJeune and Eunice Two Step by Maurice Barzas and many others

7. Amedie Two Step: became Choupique Two Step by Nathan Abshire

8. Valse à Austin Ardoin: ____

9. Blues de Basile: aka 'Tit Negre a Tante Dolie by Ambrose Thibodeaux, Le Crepe a Nazaire by Alphee Bergeron, Hula Hoop Two Step by Nathan Abshire, etc.

10. Valse à Thomas Ardoin: became Midnight Waltz by Lawrence Walker

11. Two Step de Elton _______

12. Valse de Gueydan _________ (NOT the same Valse de Gueydan done by Leo Soileau, the one the Hackberry Ramblers recorded under the title Jolie Blonde)

13. Valce à Alcee Poullard ____________

14. One Step de Oberlin: became Bayou Teche Two Step by Austin Pitre

15. Valse des Opelousas: became Bayou Chene Waltz by Iry LeJeune

16. One Step de Chamaux: became Lake Charles Two Step, done by Sidney Brown, Bois Sec Ardoin, Lawrence Ardoin, and many others

17. Les Blues de Voyage: became Blues du Voyageur done by Bois Sec Ardoin and Canray Fontenot

18. La Valse de Amitié: vocal became War Widow Waltz by Lee Sonnier (Laura Broussard on vocal)

19. Blues de Crowley: __________

20 Oberlin: similar to J'ai Passé devant ta Porte

21: Sunset: _____

22: Tout Que Reste C'est Mon Linge: ________

23: Tostape de Jennings: ___________

24: Midland Two Step: Midland Two Step done by many musicians

25: La Valse des Chantiers Pétrolipères

26. Valse Brunette: ___________

27. Tortope d'Osrun: became High Point Two Step by Austin Pitre etc.

28. La Valse du Ballard: __________

29. La Turtape de Saroied: ____________

30. Valse de La Pointe d'Eglise: NOT the same tune that is aka Kaplan Waltz. Different tune.

31. Les Blues de la Prison: NOT Les Barres de la Prison. Rather, Prison Two Step done by Austin Pitre, McCauley-Reed-Vidrine

32. Valse de Mon Vieux Village: __________

33: Si Dur d'Etre Seule: Grand Nuit Special by Iry LeJeune, aka Saturday Night Special

34: Aimez-Moi Ce Soir: _________

[kenny weir]

About a year ago, when I made a conscious decision too get a swathe of classic cajun back in my life, I decided to veer away from the JSP sets you list above.

I know I could've assembled my modest collection more cheaply going that way, but instead I headed towards single disc various artist comps, single disc/single artist comps and more. I have been richly rewarded by doing so, as the albums I've bought - some are OOP, so I got 'em secondhand through Amazon marketplace - have a much more user friendly aspect, so are getting played a lot.

The JSP approach seems to mitigate against repeated playing.

When I started getting back to this stuff, a whole disc of Leo Soileau or Denis McGee all sounded the same - now I'm back in the groove with it all, it sounds wonderful!

There is some overlap between my purchases, but it doesn't matter.

Here's what I got:

On Yazoo: Dennis McGee, Leo Soileau, Gaspard/Lachney/Bertrand.

On Sony/Columbia: Cajun Dance Party/Fai Do Do, Abbeville Breakdown.

Country Music Foundation/Bluebird: Le Gran Mamou, Raise Your Window. Still one to go in this series, but I'm waiting for the price to be right.

On Arhoolie: Joe Falcon Live, Cajun Fai Do-Do, early Hackberry Ramblers (already had that one!), Alphonse "Bois Sec" Ardoin, Amede Ardoin, Cajun Honky Tonk, Cajun String Bands, Nathan Abshire/Pinegrove Blues.

There have been surprises for me.

I don't recall Gaspard/Lachney/Bretrand first time around. Very strange and beautiful music. It doesn't sound French as in cajun, but French as in France ... if ya follow me!

Also the Alley Boys from Abbeville. Not a storied band in cajun music lore AFAIK, but wonderful - sort of a rough and tough and bluesy version of the Hackberry Ramblers.

Still to go - need me the only (AFAIK) Iry LeJeune CD and also Lawrence Walker.

And the Bear Family JD Miller box - when I can afford it!

[Neal Pomea]

Country Music Foundation/Bluebird: Le Gran Mamou, Raise Your Window. Still one to go in this series, but I'm waiting for the price to be right.

JSP duplicated a lot from these CMF sets, which were setting the standard for Cajun reissues. I thought these were out of print. Did you get them on eBay? Used on Amazon?

If you can get them, Arhoolie's lp series of Louisiana Cajun Music from the 70s were terrific! All songs transcribed and translated. I posted this blurb about them in the last few days on my Web site:

"Ever since the 1970s I was aware of the recorded old time Cajun and Creole music of the 1920s and 1930s through a remarkable series of lps (long-playing records) on the market by the Arhoolie Records label. I will always be grateful to producer Chris Strachwitz for making that music available! It's as if it's in my DNA now! Some of these outstanding lps are still available from the Arhoolie Web site, with these titles: Louisiana Cajun Music Volume 1, First Recordings (OT108); Louisiana Cajun Music Volume 2, The Early 30s (OT109); Louisiana Cajun Music Volume 3, The String Bands of the 1930s (OT110); Louisiana Cajun Music Volume 4, The 30s to the 50s (OT111); Louisiana Cajun Music Volume 5, 1928-1938 (OT114); Amade Ardoin, His Original Recordings 1928-1934 Volume 6 (OT124); Leo Soileau, Louisiana Cajun Music Volume 7 (OT125)."

I would not call what you listed above a "modest collection." It's really some of the best!!!

Edited March 13, 2011 by Neal Pomea

[kenny weir]

JSP duplicated a lot from these CMF sets, which were setting the standard for Cajun reissues. I thought these were out of print. Did you get them on eBay? Used on Amazon?

I would not call what you listed above a "modest collection." It's really some of the best!!!

Yes, Amazon marketplace - and the first two quite cheaply, under $10. The third, still to be got, is pricier. I had them back in my cajun heyday, and as I say above they're getting a LOT more playing time than had I gone the JSP route.

I meant modest in size only!

I'll also get in due course the Lomax comp you spoke of above.

[Neal Pomea]

"Especially as the Bear Family JD Miller set is about to be released. And the complete Bristol Sessions.

$$$$$$"

The Bear set is beautiful! Like a Mosaic. I got a comp copy this week. Comes with a hardbound book of notes with so many photos and stories I had not heard before. Some information already known through John Broven and Bruce Bastin, but some original telephone interviews conducted by Lyle Ferbrache with principals too. Painstaking discography by Dave Sax.

This wasn't the year for Grammy to cut back on its number of awards. If I had a vote, I would nominate this in the historic category, or reissues, or whatever they want to call it.

Musically, the climax comes for me on CD 2 of 3, with 4 songs by Amedie Breaux: Jolie Blonde, Acadian Two Step (aka Catch My Hat as we know it through Iry LeJeune), Criminal Waltz, and Poor Hobo. Amedie Breaux had one of the best hollers in the history of Cajun music. But lots of other gems too. I guess a guitarist named Jimmy Choates was the hottest, most swing-like stuff of the whole bunch. My uncle Louis Pomea played drums in one of his bands.

On the Lawrence Walker front, his Khoury 78 reissues are on Arhoolie's Cajun Honky Tonk cd, but those are not what I would call his best. Sound quality, and pounding drum fuck ups. His best, IMO, are through La Louisianne and Swallow records. LPs compilations of his 45s. Never released on CD. PM me for further info.

Edited April 9, 2011 by Neal Pomea