Jeffery Broussard and The Creole Cowboys

"Broussard is the show ... with virtuoso chops on the old-style button accordion, the newer piano-key accordion, and acoustic fiddle, with a voice that rivals Otis Redding‘s for grit and accessibility. A consummate showman ..." - By ROGER HAHN American Songwriter (May 8, 2012)

“Something from Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys who are headlining the Bayou N‘ Boogie Festival over Memorial Day weekend. Jeffery Broussard and the Creole Cowboys, for my money - they are the best traditionally oriented Zydeco band out there today. They are the best old-school players – it‘s the Creole Cowboys, bar none.” - PETER ROST, River City Slim, Host of ―Pine Grove Blues‖ on (May 3, 2012)

The energetic and toe-tapping world of the American roots music, Zydeco, shakes up the Whittier stage at San Juan Community Theatre in a performance from one of the most influential accordionists and vocalists in modern Zydeco music. The Mayor of Opelousas, Louisiana ("the Zydeco Capital of the World") calls Jeffery Broussard "one of the greatest accordion players to ever grace our beautiful Creole culture and for that matter, the world."

Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, Broussard started his music career at the age of eight when he played drums in his father‘s band, the renowned Delton Broussard & The Lawtell Playboys. By his teen years, Broussard had taught himself to play the accordion, and he began singing as well as playing. He moved on to develop the nouveau Zydeco sound in the band, Zydeco Force.
Broussard and his current band, The Creole Cowboys, promise both their own brand of contemporary Zydeco and inspiring renditions of Creole classics. - San Juan Islander, Published: March 2012

Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys features the accordion mastery and soulful vocals of front man Jeffery Broussard, from the legendary band, Zydeco Force. The band delivers great, pack-the-floor renditions of Creole classics as well as their own brand of contemporary Zydeco. Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys are taking the next generation ‘s perspective of this music and presenting it with contemporary flair and expertise.

Early Creole music, as played by legends Canray Fontenot on fiddle and Jeffery‘s father, accordion player Delton Broussard, is experiencing a well-deserved resurgence of interest in Louisiana today.
Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys create incredible music and outstanding performances, cultivating and inspiring new generations of Creole zydeco fans. Jeffery Broussard was a leading member in Zydeco Force, an influential band at the forefront of the nouveau zydeco movement. His accordion and vocals defined this new style of Creole music, incorporating the soulful sounds of R&B into contemporary zydeco music and dance.

The son of esteemed accordionist Delton Broussard, young Jeffery began his musical journey on the drums in his father‘s legendary band, the Lawtell Playboys, who were themselves innovators, adding some R&B and a funkiness to this traditional roots music. During this time, Jeffery was exposed to some of the great Creole fiddle players, including the king of the zydeco fiddle, Calvin Carrere. He has retained those precious melodies and songs he heard at home, at social gatherings and on the bandstand. And with the creation of the Creole Cowboys, and as one of Louisiana‘s newest Creole fiddle players, he captures the essence of this rich musical heritage.
The group has won various awards, including grants and fellowships and a Key to the City of Opelousas,
Louisiana, ―Zydeco Capital of the World.” - Orcas Issues, Published: March 17, 2012

How does one become a squeezebox-playing zydeco great?

Well, if you're Jeffery Broussard, you do it by growing up on a southern Louisiana farm as the youngest (and admittedly most spoiled) child of hardworking sharecroppers. You grow up hearing and playing the musical form native to that country — an up-tempo synthesis of blues, French and Afro-Caribbean influences that prominently features the accordion — at a very early age. Seriously, Broussard was just 8 when he began playing drums professionally in his dad's band, Delton Broussard & the Lawtell Playboys... And as the story goes, every chance he got, he'd sneak in the house, reach up on the closet shelf and take down his dad's prized accordion.

Had he not risked his father's ire, who knows who'd be kicking off Sisters Folk Festival's Winter Concert Series on Monday? As it stands, it's Broussard and his zydeco band The Creole Cowboys. Live, Broussard and his Cowboys play a mix of original and traditional tunes. “It's all traditional Creole and zydeco music. When Broussard started his own band, his mission was to ―just keep doing what I'm doing, because I wanted to keep the traditional stuff going,” he said. “That was my daddy's dream, to see one of his kids doing it”, he said. “I chose to do it. And I've been having the band Creole Cowboys ever since.” - By DAVID JASPER The Bulletin, Published: January 20, 2012

“Let‘s head down to Louisiana and listen to some great Zydeco from what is probably THE best Zydeco release of 2011, released by Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys. It‘s called “Return of the Creole.” Jeffery Broussard certainly, at this point in time – he is the Dean of the Zydeco accordion. I don‘t think there‘s anyone out there who can touch him on the accordion. Jeffery Broussard is the king.” - PETER ROST, River City Slim, Host of ―Pine Grove Blues‖ on (December 29, 2011)

Jeffery Broussard powers his band, the Creole Cowboys, with the force of his swampy Louisiana accordion riffs and the energy of his gruff vocals.
(Connolly‘s, 121 W. 45th St., Manhattan) - THE NEW YORKER, Published: November 7, 2011

Just try to dislike a man who bedazzles his own accordion. Just try. Mr. Broussard and his squeezebox pepper rock“n”roll antics into their traditional takes on Zydeco music, an ebullient strain of [Creole folk music].
(Connolly‘s, 121 W. 45th St., Manhattan) - The New York Times, Published: November 4, 2011

With his big, white cowboy hat pulled over his eyes, a single-row button accordion cradled in his arms and a toothpick dangling from the corner of his mouth, Jeffery Broussard makes no bones about his rural roots. His father is legendary zydeco accordionist Delton Broussard, and he grew up on the farms of south Louisiana's St. Landry Parish, where the influences of lilting Cajun fiddle and syncopated Caribbean drumming are still strong in older zydeco bands.

Broussard's new album, "Return of the Creole," brings those older Creole flavors back to a younger zydeco scene increasingly marked by funk, disco and hip-hop. He plays the fiddle on Clifton Chenier's "Tante Na Na" and Canray Fontenot's "Old Carpenter's Waltz" and sings in French on the traditional "Allons a Lafayette" and the late Boozoo Chavis's "Prier Pour Moi."

But this is no quaint history lesson. Broussard’s quintet can make a dance floor crowed and sweaty with such bluesy stompers as "I Love Big Fat Women" and "Hard to Stop." The precision-calibrated push-and-pull of the rhythms is generated by young drummer Vandrecus Wilson and bassist Classie Ballou, an alumnus of Chavis's great band. - By GEOFFREY HIMES The Washington Post, Published: October 28, 2011

Southwest Louisiana‘s Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys bring their fresh take on the Creole dance music traditions that they are dedicated to preserving. Accordionist, fiddler, and singer Broussard was a mainstay in the famous Zydeco Force, a group that took zydeco and Cajun roots and updated them for modern dance crowds without losing the feel of the original Creole zydeco gumbo. Now his Creole Cowboys take the music into the next generation while still tapping into the great roots music of such masters as fiddlers Canray Fontenot and Calvin Carrière as well as Jeffery‘s father, Delton Broussard, accordion player for the legendary Lawtell Playboys.

With new songs from their latest CD, ―Return of the Creole,‖ Broussard and the Creole Cowboys return to Ashkenaz before launching a tour of Germany. The success of Broussard‘s approach is seen at packed dance halls throughout Louisiana and beyond (including Europe and African tours) and in honors such as 2007 Accordionist of the Year in the Zydeco Music and Creole Heritage Awards. The band‘s debut CD, “Keeping the Tradition Alive,” was named top zydeco album of 2007 by Blues and Soul magazine and “Best Zydeco Album of the Year” for 2008 at the offBEAT Magazine Best of the Beat Awards in New Orleans. - Ashkenaz, Berkeley, CA Published: October 2, 2011

Jeffery Broussard may have once spearheaded the most influential band of modern zydeco with Zydeco Force, but these days he‘s on a different mission: to present the Creole cultural music prior to its adulteration of floor-rattling, urbanized sounds. His second album makes that point well, showcasing selections (“Allons a Lafayette,” “Prier pour moi,” “Madeleine”) that hail from the canon of Cajun-Creole music, but more importantly are family versions played by his father Delton of the Lawtell Playboys. Four tracks are time-honored waltzes, which will likely appeal to the older set since waltzes are practically nonexistent in today‘s zydeco.

Granted, Broussard operates within a traditional framework, but he does so with uncanny ingenuity. The
Cascading arpeggios on “Pinky‘s Heavenly Waltz” have to be the prettiest passages heard in any genre
(not just zydeco) in recent memory. The rollicking “Big Fat Women” was a spur-of-the- moment bandstand concoction inspired by certain patrons. Then there are the moments when the masterful
Accordionist pulls out all stops to stage a jaw-dropping clinic.

Buckwheat Zydeco‘s “Hard to Stop” is the best example; despite whatever direction Zydeco may be
Headed these days, Broussard shows that there‘s still plenty of room left in this frame. - By DAN WILLGING OffBEAT, Published: May 1, 2011

Probably the only zydeco band ever to get a drooling review from a New York Times dance critic, Jeffery
Broussard & The Creole Cowboys make a St. Paul debut playing songs from their Offbeat magazine
"Best Zydeco Album of the Year 2009" CD. The album's called, "Keeping The Tradition Alive!" and it's
Aptly titled, since accordionist and singer Broussard is the son of Creole legend, Delton Broussard, and got his start playing drums in dad's band, The Lawtell Playboys. But he really established himself publicly,
Earning cult fame, with the popular band Zydeco Force. Broussard's now rated one of the top accordionists in the genre, also gets] high marks for his vocals, and has recently branched out and started adding the violin to his old-school arsenal. Tom Surowicz - By TOM SUROWICZ Star Tribune Vita.MN, Published April 16, 2011

The Rogue presents some real down-home Zydeco music from Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys.
Zydeco is a heady mix of Celtic/Acadian folk music with African rhythms and R&B and is driven by the throaty sound of the button accordion.
Keeping The Tradition Alive is the title of Jeffery's … CD, and that is his primary purpose in life. - By STEVE EDGE The Celtic Connection, Published: February 2011

Why doesn‘t every choreographer work with a live zydeco band? The question came to mind while listening to Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys, who accompanied Elisa Monte Dance in “Zydeco, Zaré,” which had its New York premiere at the Joyce Theater on Wednesday.

And yet. Mr. Broussard and his Cowboys are fabulous: You start moving in your seat as soon as their rhythmic, rich melodies, both joyous and mournful, flood the theater. But for the most part this band, with its inescapable voice, didn’t do Ms. Monte‘s choreography any favors, despite inspiring some of the liveliest performances of the night from such fine dancers as Daquan Thompson, Maya Taylor, Clement Mensah and India Bolds. Instead, it highlighted just how polite and predictable an artist Ms. Monte is.
I don‘t think this was always the case. The revival of a 1984 work, “Audentity,” set to a relentless Klaus Schulze score, shows a more particularly minimalist choreographic mind at work. The dancers here are like futuristic intergalactic ambassadors, striding and lunging tirelessly along a diagonal strip of white flooring, executing calm balances while their raised legs hinge and rotate. They come in peace, these fierce beings. But don‘t mess with them.

There isn‘t much to mess with in works like the structurally slight “Slope of Enlightenment” from 2007, or “Arrow‘s Path,” a fussy, overwrought premiere for two couples and a lone man (Joe Celej on Wednesday) who kept interrupting their grappling. Program notes described “an intertwining and juxtaposition” of relationships, but it was hard to discern any sort of community here; the dancers seemed to interact mainly to facilitate ostentatious partnering maneuvers.
“Zydeco, Zaré” certainly has more life in it, especially when Ms. Monte relaxes and lets her dancers have a bit of fun in the final social dance section. Still, the eyes, following the ears, traveled again and again to those Creole Cowboys. Accompaniment or no, they were the main draw.
Elisa Monte Dance performs through Sunday at the Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street; (212) 242-0800, joyce.org A version of this article appeared in print on January 23, 2009, on page C4 of the New York edition. - By CLAUDIA LA ROCCO The New York Times, Published: January 22, 2009

About 15 years ago, musicians fighting to be the King of Zydeco was a popular pastime. After the first king, Clifton Chenier, died in 1987, Rockin' Dopsie claimed the crown. When Dopsie died in 1993, Boozoo Chavis said the crown was his. Since Boozoo died in 2001, the circus that surrounded the crown has passed too.
Today's bumper crop of young zydeco musicians seem content with a cell phone, MySpace page and full
schedule of gigs.

If the crown was resurrected, my top candidate would be Jeffery Broussard. My idea of king is not the guy with the hottest band, most popular song or most women around the bandstand. I think of a musician who can command the accordion like no other. That's easily Jeffery Broussard, who is pound for pound, the best zydeco accordion player around. If you don't believe me, believe Boozoo, who most young players imitate today.

Years ago, I asked Chavis who he thought was the best player. His first answer was Jeffery Broussard. Some of the top band leaders today - J. Paul Jr., Leon Chavis, Guyland Leday, Step Rideau and Lil Pookie - all took
lessons from Broussard. But Broussard isn't interested in crowns or pats on the back. He wants to give back to the generations that started the music.

"I want to do something for the older people," said Broussard, 40. "They always say they don't have any place to go or any music to listen to. "I like all the guys playing zydeco today and I respect them. But what they're playing isn't the zydeco I grew up with. If we keep changing it, we're going to lose it." Broussard and the Creole Cowboys stand up for the old music with Keeping the Tradition Alive!, their new CD on Maison de Soul Records. The 17-song disc is filled with Boozoo-flavored originals and old hits that rocked Richard's in Lawtell, Gilton's in Eunice and other zydeco hot spots of the 1980s.

"I like all the guys playing zydeco today and I respect them. But what they're playing isn't the zydeco I grew up with. If we keep changing it, we're going to lose it."

Broussard has come full circle in his career. He grew up in traditional zydeco, brought in a new sound in the '80s and has now returned to his roots. The youngest of 11 children, all of whom were musicians, dancers or singers, Jeffery was 8 years old when he played drums in father's popular band, Delton Broussard and the Lawtell Playboys. In the seventh grade, he quit school to help his sharecropping family make ends meet. But Broussard never quit music, which also brought money into the family. By the late 1980s, he and Robbie "Mann" Robinson founded Zydeco Force, a band that became an icon on the zydeco scene. The group was featured regularly on the TV show, Zydeco Extravaganza, and was a top draw at clubs and trail rides.

Zydeco Force officially disbanded in 2005, just about the time Broussard was returning to his roots. Work as an instructor at the Cajun/Creole Week at the Augusta Heritage Center in West Virginia, and later, Louisiana Folk Roots' Dewey Balfa camp, turned Broussard into an educator of his native Creole culture. Broussard, a master of more than a half dozen instruments, now travels the country playing and teaching. "It makes me happy to see my music make people happy," said Broussard. "It reminds me of how things were when I was growing up.
That's something that a person should never turn their back on." - By HERMAN FUSILIER The Independent, Published: January 31, 2008