Whew, the 2010 Northwest Folklife Festival was a rush and we're exhausted from four days at the nation's largest community arts festival! 

To fill in on the blog, our good friend, and author, Zach Hudson, has kindly sent a guest CD Review of one of our favorite recent CDs: a Cajun twin-fiddle release from Linzay Young (of the Red Stick Ramblers) and Joel Savoy (Marc Savoy's son and founder of Grammy-nominated Valcour Records).  

Joel's coming to Seattle with old-school Cajun accordionist Jesse Lege on July 2, so check out our website for that concert.
 

Linzay Young & Joel Savoy
2009, Valcour Records
Review courtesy of Zach Hudson

Innovation and modernization helps keep a musical tradition fresh and alive; no one disputes that, but there are times when even roots music needs to go back to its… er… roots. That’s what Linzay Young and Joel Savoy have done on their new self-titled release. They take Cajun music back not only before drum kits and electric basses, but before the accordion. How’s that for old school? Before the one-row accordion got popular in Cajun music, it was all up to the fiddle, often two of them, and that is what Linzay and Joel have channeled. The French lyrics are sung in the perfectly unpolished voices natural to the music. The tunes are simple, authentic and straight from the heart, and the bayou.

Madame Young

For such a back-to-the-basics album, the thirteen tracks are amazingly diverse. They include twin fiddle, fiddle and guitar, fiddle and voice, and vocal harmony. Fast and slow, in major and minor keys, the tunes are interesting and unique, and seem to cover every mood of traditional Cajun tune I can think of. Each is fresh, but firmly part of a tradition.

The Wedding March

I have nothing against the accordion, but without it, the fiddles and voices are allowed some room to really express the subtlety of Cajun music. Linzay and Joel are both technical geniuses, but their album captures the honest simplicity that makes Cajun music what it is.

Hearth Music Note: Thanks to Zach Hudson for the review and Joel Savoy at Valcour for permission to stream the music. Support Cajun roots music by buying the CD and spreading the word!

Also: check out this cool video of Linzay Young's prodigious cooking talents: