TOP-DRAWER CAJUN SOUNDS WITH
ADDED ROCKABILLY SWAGGER
The
Cajun music tradition is one of the most protected in American roots
music, a heritage handed down through generations and along the
branches of the family tree. It was therefore something of a given that
Sarah Savoy would follow the family trade--Pop is Marc Savoy, the
eminent musician and the leading accordion maker in Louisiana, while
Mom is Ann Savoy, another acclaimed musician and the author of Cajun Music: A Reflection of A
People.
Not that young Sarah is merely the current caretaker of a trapped-in-amber tradition. Although her band is undeniably a Cajun outfit (plenty of mournful fiddle an wheezing accordion), she also occasionally injects her sound with the twang of Western Swing and the strut of rockabilly.
The result is a winning lesson in how to freshen up a tradition while keeping a firm grasp of its roots.
Not that young Sarah is merely the current caretaker of a trapped-in-amber tradition. Although her band is undeniably a Cajun outfit (plenty of mournful fiddle an wheezing accordion), she also occasionally injects her sound with the twang of Western Swing and the strut of rockabilly.
The result is a winning lesson in how to freshen up a tradition while keeping a firm grasp of its roots.
--Nige Tassell, WOMAD
Festival 2010, Charlton Park, Official Souvenir Programme
