betcha feet are movin’

Corey Ledet

Standing On Faith

CPL Records – coreyledet.com

   This tremendous Zydeco performer will release a new disc (March 3) that demonstrates how much his repertoire has expanded without ever leaving his Zydeco roots.  This is a powerful disc that shows us the growth as both a human being, and as a musician, that this man has made in this short stretch.  Think of this, he is now 35 years old and has 14 years as a Zydeco band leader and 25 years on the stage as a musician behind him to give him the experience to experiment with his music and take it in related, but differing directions.   On this disc you hear a solid bed of Zydeco and there are infusions of R & B, Reggae, and Funk, and a bit of Radio, aka Pop. He has the solid foundation of Zydeco classics he learned from Clifton Chenier and Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural ingrained into him, and he is just doing his part and expanding the genre as he is exposed to more and more experiences which become influences on his view of the world of music.  

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86uhMms5z7I  

   This album has Corey on Accordions, drums (his original instrument), washboard and vocals; Jesse DelGizzi on guitar, bass, Moog, and vocals; and Cecil Green on keyboards.  Mr. Green is the Producer and Mr. DelGizzi is the Co-producer.  There are eight songs on this disc three were written by Corey Ledet, one was written by Corey and Jesse DelGizzi and one by Corey, Jesse, and Cecil Green.  Then we come to the other three songs on the disc; “Love Never Felt So Good,”  is a composition by Paul Anka and Michael Jackson, and it is done as an instrumental and seems to sort of wander in a jazzy fashion along the boulevard; “ New York City” is a solid Zydeco number written by Roy Carrier, another good and interesting Zydeco performer; and then “A Good Day” takes us Island hopping with a meshed Zydeco Calypso beat, written by Spawnbreezie (I know nothing of this performer tho there seems to be a bit of Jamaican Island breeze and with some hip-hop in there).

    The packaging of this disc is worth noting as the front and back cover are two beautiful photographs of Mr. Ledet with background of the swampy terrain around southern Louisiana, very fitting and indicative of the music contained therein.  This is a musician who has the potential to break out and take Zydeco music to levels not seen since the passing of “The King of Zydeco,” Clifton Chenier.  A very good disc.  

by bob gottlieb