RENDEZVOUS DES CAJUNS {FEATURING HORACE TRAHAN & OSSUN EXPRESS, CREOLE ZYDECO FARMERS, AND ANN VIDRINE} {KOSOFSKY ETHNIC RADIO COLLECTION -- CAJUN FRENCH AND ENGLISH} (RADIO)
Summary
One in this weekly series broadcast live from the Liberty Theater in Eunice, Louisiana, which focuses on Cajun music and humor. The evening begins with a set played by the Creole Zydeco Farmers, a musical group that plays music ranging from traditional Creole tunes to pieces that nearly qualify as jazz. Their offerings include "Bye-Bye"; "Chanka Chanka Man"; "Lucille"; "Oh, My Bad Girl"; "Dansez, Chantez"; and "Old-Fashioned Waltz." Guest host Pete Bergeron encourages the audience members to dance to the Farmers' tunes, and he even promises to find some sawdust to make the floor less slippery. At the end of the set, Bergeron goes out into the auditorium to greet out-of-state visitors and to joke with audience members. He then returns to the stage to welcome folklorist, fiddler, and singer Ann Vidrine. Before Vidrine begins playing, she and Bergeron talk a bit about her background. She says that she was originally employed in marketing, and that she took up the violin in her late twenties and has been a fiddler ever since. She begins her section of the program with "La Valse de Pont l'Amour," inviting audience members to dance as she plays. She and Bergeron proceed to discuss her career, which included a stint in the Midwest playing in music centers such as Branson, Missouri, and a show in France, which took place in 1994, honoring jazz legend Sidney Bechet. Vidrine also talks about her violin, a French instrument that is over 100 years old. She goes on to play several more songs, including "Oeuvres Ton Coeur," "Colinda," "J'ai PassŽ Devant Ta Porte" (a song which the audience sings along to), and a short unnamed two-step. After Bergeron briefly mentions the next week's program and suggests that listeners attend the upcoming Cajun Music Awards, he introduces accordionist Horace Trahan and his band Ossun Express, featuring Leo Abshire on the violin. The ensemble launches into a number of traditional Cajun tunes, including "Hicks Wagon Wheel," "Le Choupique," and "La Valse de RŽno." The musicians also play a song in English, "Keep Your Hands Off of It," in honor of non-French-speaking listeners. The band goes on to perform additional tunes, including "La Valse de Cherokee" and "Le Petit Wagon." In between numbers, Bergeron talks to the individual band members. In particular, he quizzes the twenty-two-year-old Trahan about the origins of his interest in traditional Cajun music. Trahan explains that he first had an interest in rock and roll, like many other young musicians, but that he slowly became fascinated with Cajun music by listening to and working with older musicians -- in particular, his cousin, accordionist Felix Richard. Concluding numbers include "La Valse du Grand Chemin" and "Le Creole Stomp." And the band launches into a final two-step as the tape fades out.
(This program contains minor technical problems. This represents the best copy of this program currently available to the Museum.)
(This program is in Cajun French and English.)
The acquisition and cataloging of this program were made possible by Marvin and Jacqueline Kosofsky.
Details
- NETWORK: KJJB-FM
- DATE: August 8, 1998 6:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 2:01:09
- COLOR/B&W: N/A
- CATALOG ID: R:17697
- GENRE: Radio - Music
- SUBJECT HEADING: Cajun French dialect; Fiddlers - Louisiana; Music
- SERIES RUN: KRVS (Lafayette/Lake Charles, LA) - Radio series, 1987-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Pete Bergeron … Host
- Vincent Fonteneau … Announcer
- Leo Abshire … Performer
- Creole Zydeco Farmers … Music Group
- Ossun Express … Music Group
- Horace Trahan … Performer
- Ann Vidrine … Performer
- Sidney Bechet
- Felix Richard