Corey Ledet
Have accordion, will travel. That’s been Corey Ledet’s motto for most of his three decades as a zydeco musician.
During a tour of Russia, Ledet enjoyed VIP treatment with his own security detail. Fans were eager to touch his band’s zydeco rubboard, a metal vest that’s worn over the shoulders to scratch out a rhythm. Fascinated admirers dubbed it the “magic instrument.”
With trips to Hawaii, Canada and throughout Europe also on his resume, Ledet yearned to preserve the energy of those road shows. But the time and place for a live recording never lined up.
“When the Anchorage Folk Festival came up, I said this might be a good opportunity,” said Ledet, 44, a two-time Grammy nominee. “So I talked to the people over there about it.
“When I got there, they had all the equipment to record. I got to thinking about Clifton Chenier, a lot of his live recordings were done away from home. It worked for the King of Zydeco. I said, ‘Let me try this’.”
The result is Live in Alaska, the first live album for Corey Ledet Zydeco and his mysterious, new accordion, “Black Magic.” After sifting through three days of recording, the band settled on 11 tracks that demonstrate Ledet’s title, “The Accordion Dragon.”
The album features live renditions of English and Creole hits from Ledet’s previous 15 CDs. “Alaska Funk,” a new track, is an impromptu, onstage jam with Ledet and his skilled, Louisiana entourage.
“We created that song live on the spot,” said Ledet. “Like I told the audience ‘It’s amazing when you have great musicians, you can almost create a song off the top of your head’.”
Improvisation is in his Ledet’s blood. A self-described fan of all music, Ledet has family who have played with Louis Armstrong, Ike and Tina Turner, Bobby “Blue” Bland, B. B. King and other music legends. All have roots where Ledet lives in Parks, a south Louisiana village with less than 700 people.
Those bloodlines allow Ledet to embrace zydeco, blues, jazz, Creole music and more.
“I love it all. I want my music to be like a good gumbo – full of different styles. Everybody likes a gumbo. You’ve got all kind of stuff.
“You’ve got you meat, your seasoning, so many different ingredients. That’s what I want my music to be.”
Herman Fuselier is a writer, broadcaster and tourism director living in Opelousas. His “Zydeco Stomp” radio show airs at noon Central time Saturdays on KRVS 8.7 FM and online at KRVS Public Media.
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Corey Ledet was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and spent his Summers with relatives in small-town Parks, where he was exposed to their Kouri-Veni language and Creole traditions. This molded and shaped Corey’s world in a profound way. This culture has its roots in Louisiana, but eventually spread across the country, including into neighboring Texas. When he returned home after Summer, Corey was able to remain immersed in the Creole culture he learned to love. He learned everything he could about Creole culture – the traditions, the food, and most importantly, the music — so that he could incorporate it into all aspects of his life.
His love for Creole/Zydeco music was instant and hard to ignore. Ledet studied the originators of the music like Clifton Chenier, John Delafose, and Boozoo Chavis. His studies branched out to include any (and all) Zydeco artists. At the age of 10, Corey started picking up shows as drummer for Houston’s Wilbert Thibodeaux and the Zydeco Rascals and slowly learned his way around the main instrument of the style – accordion. He came to truly love every type of accordion: the single-note, triple-note and piano key … as well as still more exotic species! He worked at building his skills and coming to know knew each one intimately.
By the time he graduated from high school, Ledet was certain that music would be the focus of his future. Eventually, he moved to Louisiana to be fully immersed in his beloved Creole culture.
To this day, Corey Ledet remains true to his family and cultural roots and looks for ways to incorporate them in his musical work and style of living. He’s created his own unique style out of the diverse influences of the many musicians he’s studied, blending old and new styles of Zydeco, and more!