ALBUM REVIEWS - Une Tasse Cafe

Lafayette, LA Nick Pittman, May 2006 On the surface, the Mello Joy Boys ' Une Tasse Cafe appears a corporate CD hawking the virtues of steaming hot South Louisiana coffee -- something to hand out at an industry tradeshow. But, while the band (sponsored by Mello Joy Coffee) celebrates Mello Joy on their theme song and the Mello Joy Boogie (inspired by Bill Nettles' Hadacol Boogie), the record is actually a pitch for the Cajun swing era. The Lost Bayou Ramblers began developing the Mello Joys Boys concept band in 2002 for a New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival performance. A cultural experiment, they aimed to recreate the sounds of 1933 to 1947 Cajun music, when South Louisiana turned its ear towards Texas, Crescent City jazz and adapting Broadway and hillbilly tunes. Now a full repertoire with Wilson Savoy joining them live on piano and vocals and the history and emcee skills provided by Ryan Brasseaux, Une Tasse Cafe represents the genre in each one of its shades. (Here on the CD they are joined by Josh Caffery on Mandolin, D'Jalma Garnier on banjo and Cavan Caruth on vocals.) During this time, Cajun bands dropped their accordions and took a string approach to blending Cajun sounds with Western swing and New Orleans jazz. This decade-and-a-half saw the first amplified Cajun music and added to the music for the first time drums, bass fiddle, both lead and steel guitars, mandolin and tenor banjo. Following the lead by The Light Crust Dough Boys -- an outfit including purveyors of Western swing Milton Brown and Bob Wills -- Cajun swing bands such as the Hackberry Ramblers and Leo Soileau's Aces began shilling product through music for Montgomery Ward's brand of tires and a Baton Rouge-based coffee company, respectively. LBR accurately partnered with Mello Joy, as it -- the first Cajun-owned coffee -- began brewing up in 1936. Mello Joy Boys resurrect the era perfectly -- dressed in their uniform outfits, a staple of the era, and ranging in line-up from a simple three-piece combo to a full-blown eight-piece orchestra arrangement -- they cover all the bases. Hitting all the stages, Une Tasse Cafe includes a smoking fiddle- and piano-led burner of a rendition of Harry Choates' Devil on the Bayou and a bilingual adaptation of Jimmie Davis' You Are My Sunshine. They also put their stamp on a Chuck Berry's variant -- their most rock 'n' roll tune to date -- and Iry Lejeune's Une Grosse Erreur and pay honor to the Joe's Acadians, Lawrence & The Walker Brothers, the Texas Playboys and the Hackberry Ramblers. Adding their name to the genre's scope, they pour Blues D'Hiver, a low-key original that is more Western than swing. While the record serves its intent as a glance into history, in true LBR fashion, it is sure to inspire more foot-tapping, waltzes and dance-floor swinging than a gallon of their sponsor's darkest roast.

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