Louisiana is obviously a source of inspiration for artist Vergie Banks but what inspires her in particular is Cajun and Creole music.
Why? To begin with, when she was a little girl, her dad would listen to a lot of Cajun and Creole music.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEBr8u01Pq8[/youtube]
Songs are sung in French and in English.
The Cajuns (ancestries are from Nova Scotia): musicians play their music with fiddles, accordions,triangles, guitars, and sometime a drum set.
The Creoles (ancestryies are French, Native American, African, and Spanish) : musicians play their music with instruments of accordions, scrub boards, guitars and drum set.
TRADITIONAL CAJUN AND CREOLE INSTRUMENTS |
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The triangle | The drum set |
The scrub board | The banjo |
The guitar | The fiddle |
The accordion |
Zydeco
It is a popular music in Southern Louisiana that combines French melodies and elements of Caribbean music. It is influenced by the Blues and the Rhythm’n’blues. It is played by small groups featuring the guitar, the accordion, and a washboard.
The word ‘Zydeco’ derives from Zarico, a traditional song in French (“Zydeco son pas salé” = les haricots ne sont pas salés”)
Zydeco was created by the Creoles but became widely popular in the 1980s through the performances of Clifton Chenier, Queen Ida, Buckwheat Zydeco, Boozoo Chavis, and many others.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEdk5nq-iBk[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwi9Nx-TMOo[/youtube]
Amédé Ardoin ((March 11, 1898 – November 4, 1941) was very famous for his virtuosity on the Creole/Cajun accordion and for laying the groundwork for Cajun music in the early 20th century. He was a gifted singer too. He was the first artist to record the music of the Acadiana region of Louisiana.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EMELyoCE7k[/youtube]
Totally different sounds of music. Lafayette has their Festival International de Louisiane every year in spring, it embraces French speaking musicians around the world to perform for the event.
Louisiana is also well known for Music & Food Festivals.
A big thank you to artist Vergie Banks for providing all the useful information about Cajun and Creole music!
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A LOUISIANA ARTIST : VERGIE BANKS |
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Little Red Tricycle |