Boozoo Chavis and the Majic Sounds
Live! At The Habibi Temple (Rounder)
Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers
Pick Up On This! (Rounder)
by Marc Hirsh
Boozoo Chavis and the Majic Sounds
Live! At The Habibi Temple (Rounder)
Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers
Pick Up On This! (Rounder)
by Marc Hirsh
originally published in the Rice Thresher, April 21, 1995
I can't tell if it's only Brown College that's becoming obsessed with it or if it's all of Rice, but lately, zydeco music seems to be everywhere. Like ska a year or two ago, zydeco may well burst out of its cult status and take over as mainstream.
This would not be a bad thing. There's something comforting about hearing music like this, music which tells you simply to have fun. Taking bits and pieces from blues, rock, reggae, funk and African music, zydeco asks you to get on the floor and move.
Nowhere is this more evident than on Live! At The Habibi Temple by Boozoo Chavis and the Majic Sounds. This live album bristles with energy, but such energy is to be expected from the man who was recently crowned the third King of Zydeco.
Like his predecessors, Clifton Chenier and Rockin' Dopsie, Chavis' instrument of choice is the accordion. His backing band sticks to a standard two-guitar, bass, drums setup, with the addition of a washboard as extra percussion. Chavis' son Charles, who can only be described as a virtuoso on his given instrument, plays the rub board.
Zydeco's structure usually resembles funk and blues. Unlike other forms of popular music, which progresses in a linear fashion, these songs gets where they're going straight away and then go around in circles. Not that this is a bad thing. The key here is groove. If it sounds repetitious to you, you're not listening correctly.
Everything on the album is extremely danceable and lots of fun. Chavis' horrible diction renders almost all the vocals incomprehensible, but who cares? Listening to this music for the lyrics is like going to McDonald's for a salad. Sure, you could do it, but what's the point?
If Chavis sits proudly on the zydeco throne, he isn't cocky about it. New competition is appearing in the guise of Beau Jocque. Possessing a powerful, gravelly baritone and formidable accordion skills, Jocque is rising fast in the zydeco nobility as the tight Pick Up On This! demonstrates.
Unlike Chavis, who takes a more traditional approach to zydeco, Jocque is willing to experiment. From the turntable scratchings in the opening "Give It To Me" to the touches of ska spread liberally throughout, the album is more varied than Habibi Temple. Funk and even touches of rap are all over the place.
Jocque's band can play anything they want. The ZZ Top-like boogie of "Zydeco Boogie Woogie" sounds as if John Lee Hooker hooked up with a killer rhythm section and just cut loose for six minutes. Despite incomprehensible vocals, "Chere Mignonne (Dear Cute One)" sounds like a lost soul classic. Even a straight-up zydeco tune like "Don't Tell Your Mama, Don't Tell Your Papa" gets a massive burst of energy from the band, taking it somewhere new.
This sort of stylistic cross-pollination can often get artists into trouble, but Jocque understands the music well enough to make it work. He appreciates its roots as a creole style that began as a mixture in the first place. Because of this, he sees no reason not to keep adding ingredients to the gumbo, and his gleeful abandon makes it all work.
I personally find Pick Up more enjoyable than Habibi Temple, but it's a close race. On the latter, we hear an elder statesman keeping a tradition alive while the former is a young upstart playing with the form, pushing the boundaries. Both perform their duties with exceptional aplomb, and both albums would make a fine introduction to the style. But if Chavis doesn't look out, Jocque could be breathing down his neck sooner than expected.