Search - Leo Soileau :: Early American Cajun Music

Pioneer Cajun Performer

Kevin Fontenot | New Orleans, LA United States | 06/17/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This wonderfully remastered Yazoo CD contains the early recordings of Leo Soileau, one of the most important pioneer Cajun recording artists. The material is from his earliest sessions (he only narrowly missed making the first Cajun records)and concentrates on fiddle duets and fiddle-accordion pieces. Of special importance are the forward looking duets with Mayeus Lafleur (who was killed shortly after their recording session), which anticipate the dancehall sound of the post WW2 era. Soileau and Lafleur are gloriously insync here. The tension filled duets with accordionist Moise Robin show that Soileau is already pulling away from accordion based music, though these are some of the bluesiest Cajun records ever cut. The fiddle duets harken back to the house dances of Soileau's youth. The CD does not present a complete picture of Soileau as an artist. After 1929 he began forming string bands that borrowed heavily from country and western swing, forging a new sound that reflected Cajuns' interaction with the modern world. Those string band recordings need fully reissue because they were heavily influential along the Gulf Coast and are really how Soileau is remembered in the dancehalls of Louisiana. That said, this is a wonderful CD that fully explores the early years of a great artist."