River Zydeco Band - Down The Line (2017)

The landscape on the cover photo is not situated in the marshy swamps of Louisiana but in the swamp area of ??the Biesbosch near Raamsdonksveer. For a quarter of a century, River Zydeco Band is carrying Louisiana's musical legacy from the Swamp Studio home base in Raamsdonksveer. This town in North Brabant has been home to ZydecoZity since '94, now the leading, cajun and zydeco festival for Europe. River Zydeco Band is a permanent attraction and celebrates its anniversary at the same time as the festival.

Accordionist Jo van Strien once found an LP of Clifton Chenier in a London record store. With an infectious sweltering mixture of two steps, and waltzes from the Cajuns from the Southwest of Louisiana, R & B from New Orleans and Texasblues, the accordion player with Creole roots, in the fifties, explained the lines of contemporary zydeco.

The enthusiasm for this discovery results in the River Zydeco Band that Van Strien and some musical comedians set up. In a compelling Long Time Ago, the story about the origin is reopened by the extensive combo with a saxophonist and ladies' choir. The zydecobeat still forms an unwavering foundation, but the arrival of singer Edwin Balogh opens up new perspectives for his own repertoire. With the exception of Catherine Le Blue, who has been provided by rubboardman Cees Emmen, Balogh supplies the song work.

The sixth long player, Down The Line, bathes more than ever in an expanded sound spectrum, besides the obvious cajun and zydeco we clearly hear blues influences in Hail To Your Beauty that rely on a strong alliance of guitar, sax and of course sax. If there is an extensive horn section, we will go with Dance The Zydeco in a nostalgic, jazzy big band adventure or in a funky version with Zydekosis.

Whichever style is used on Down The Line in your chair is not an option. Within, the boundaries of the genre, although not strictly defined, River Zydeco Band succeeds in rehabilitating the swinging Louisiana style in a fascinating and personal way, you have to do it. ~Google translation