The Best of Beau Jocque & the Zydeco Hi-Rollers

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Genre: Cajun & Zydeco
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 14-AUG-2001

Beau Jocque is the stage name of Andrus Espre, a giant of a man who added funk bass, Peter Frampton-style talk-box guitar, and the occasional drum loop to the down-home sound of zydeco in the 1990s and became one of the genre's biggest stars. The Best of Beau Jocque selects 13 tracks from his seven Rounder releases, including originals like "Give Him Cornbread," his biggest hit (which has since become a zydeco standard); "Damballah," a percussive romp named for a voodoo deity; and "Richard's Club," a hard-driving ode to a favorite hangout. Beau Jocque has a deep, rumbling voice that recalls Howlin' Wolf and an infectious danceable accordion style inspired by Boozoo Chavis, but his canny blend of funk, soul, rock, reggae, and zydeco is all his own. Unfortunately, Beau Jocque died of a heart attack in 1999, but his spirit lives on in these recordings, and perhaps more importantly, in the countless zydeco bands that continue to play his songs. --Michael Simmons