A Hunter in the Cafe: Leyla McCalla and "Peze Café"

The former cellist with roots group The Carolina Chocolate Drops, brings us today's random tune called Peze Café. American musician Leyla McCalla was born in New York City to Haitian parents and was raised in New Jersey. McCalla also lived in Ghana for two years. After graduating from New York University, where she studied cello performance and chamber music (she also plays guitar and banjo), she moved to New Orleans and was a street musician. Her first solo album was a tribute to the poetry of Langston Hughes which she credits with inspiring her to be an artist. It was five years in the making and was financed by a Kickstarter campaign. She plays music inspired by Haitian folk songs and sung in Haitian creole, as well as Louisiana traditional music such as old Cajun fiddle tunes and trad-jazz. She also writes original compositions. A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey comes from a Haitian proverb, and McCalla told NPR in an interview that it was written while she was thinking of the vulnerability and desperation of the Haitian boat people, as well as Syrian refugees. You can find Peze Café on McCalla's second solo album, A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey, released in 2016.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leyla_McCalla; https://leylamccalla.com/

Blues a la Creole: Beausoleil and "Bessie's Blues"

Beausoleil brings us the random tune for today, called Bessie's Blues. Beausoleil was founded in 1975, released its first album in 1977 and became one of the most well-known groups from playing traditional and original music in the Creole tradition of Louisiana. They have also gone beyond the traditional, incorporating rock and roll, jazz, blues, calypso and other genres. They are an extensive touring band, and they sing in both English and Colonial Louisiana French. The band takes its name from Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil, who led the Acadian resistance to British deportation from Canada and led 193 exiles to safety in Louisiana. The band almost didn't come to be - Michael Doucet, one of the founders, was going to New Mexico to study Romantic Poets, but he won a Folk Arts Apprenticeship sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. As he puts it: "I traded William Blake for Dewey Balfa," and he sought out every living Cajun/Creole performer to learn what he could about Cajun music and their techniques. He even encouraged some to resume performing. They are one of the few Creole/Cajun groups to win a Grammy. Bessie's Blues can be found on their 2013 CD From Bamako to Carencro.

Searching for You: Beausoleil and "Tous Les Deux Pour La Meme"

Today's song is by Louisiana Creole band Beausoleil. Beausoleil was founded in 1975, released its first album in 1977 and became one of the most well-known groups from playing traditional and original music in the Creole tradition of Louisiana. They have also gone beyond the traditional, incorporating rock and roll, jazz, blues, calypso and other genres. They are an extensive touring band, and they sing in both English and Colonial Louisiana French. The band takes its name from Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil, who led the Acadian resistance to British deportation from Canada and led 193 exiles to safety in Louisiana. The band almost didn't come to be - Michael Doucet, one of the founders, was going to New Mexico to study Romantic Poets, but he won a Folk Arts Apprenticeship sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. As he puts it: "I traded William Blake for Dewey Balfa," and he sought out every living Cajun/Creole performer to learn what he could about their music and their techniques. He even encouraged some to resume performing. Beausoleil are one of the few Creole/Cajun groups to win a Grammy. This song, Tous Les Deux Pour La Meme, is from their 1995 album Vintage Beausoleil, and can also be found on their 1997 CD The Best of Beausoleil.

Stinging: BeauSoleil and "Bee's Blues"

Today's tune is Bee's Blues by BeauSoleil. BeauSoleil was founded in 1975, released its first album in 1977 and became one of the most well-known groups from playing traditional and original music in the Creole tradition of Louisiana. They have also gone beyond the traditional, incorporating rock and roll, jazz, blues, calypso and other genres. They are an extensive touring band, and they sing in both English and Colonial Louisiana French. The band takes its name from Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil, who led the Acadian resistance to British deportation from Canada and led 193 exiles to safety in Louisiana. The band almost didn't come to be - Michael Doucet, one of the founders, was going to New Mexico to study the Romantic Poets, but he won a Folk Arts Apprenticeship sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. As he puts it: "I traded William Blake for Dewey Balfa," and he sought out every living Cajun/Creole performer to learn what he could about Cajun music and their techniques. He even encouraged some to resume performing. BeauSoleil are one of the few Creole/Cajun groups to win a Grammy. Bee's Blues can be found on their 1997 album The Best of Beausoleil.

Party Time: Wyclef Jean and "Fistibal - Festival"

Today's random tune is by multiple Grammy-winning Haitian artist Wyclef Jean. Wyclef Jean first came to fame in the US music business, but this hip hop artist, actor, and politician is also a humanitarian who has established a foundation to aid his native country. Born in Haiti, he moved with his family to New Jersey in 1982. A founding member of The Fugees (their name was a reference to Haitian refugees), he rose to prominence with the rest of the band as they released highly successful albums in the 1990s. In the late 1990s, he embarked on a solo career and collaborated with other artists such as Youssou N'Dour, Earth Wind and Fire and Shakira. His foundation, Yéle Haiti, has aided in the aftermath of Hurricane Jeanne and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Additionally, in 2010 he made a bid to run for president of Haiti, but his candidacy was turned down by the Electoral Council because he did not meet minimum residency requirements. He has released 11 solo albums, with his latest, Clefication, just out this year. This tune, Fistibal - Festival is from his 2004 album Welcome to Haiti: Creole 101.

Steamy: Lawrence Ardoin and "Hot House Zydeco"

Hot House Zydeco is the name of our random tune today. The performer, Lawrence "Black" Ardoin, is the son of Creole accordion legend Alphonse "Bois Sec" Ardoin and he joined his father and two brothers in the Ardoin Brothers Band as drummer, later taking over the accordion when his brother Gustave was killed in a car accident in 1974. Feeling stifled by traditional Creole music, he started a new band in the 1980s called the French Zydeco Band which branched out into Cajun and swamp pop. He also formed another band, Lagniappe, which included his son Chris on accordion. Hot House Zydeco can be found on the compilation CD Louisiana's Best Cajun and Zydeco Music.

Sweet: BeauSoleil and "La Douceur"

Today's tune is La Douceur by BeauSoleil. BeauSoleil was founded in 1975, released its first album in 1977 and became one of the most well-known groups from playing traditional and original music in the Creole tradition of Louisiana. They have also gone beyond the traditional, incorporating rock and roll, jazz, blues, calypso and other genres. They are an extensive touring band, and they sing in both English and Colonial Louisiana French. The band takes its name from Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil, who led the Acadian resistance to British deportation from Canada and led 193 exiles to safety in Louisiana. The band almost didn't come to be - Michael Doucet, one of the founders, was going to New Mexico to study Romantic Poets, but he won a Folk Arts Apprenticeship sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. As he puts it: "I traded William Blake for Dewey Balfa," and he sought out every living Cajun/Creole performer to learn what he could about Cajun music and their techniques. He even encouraged some to resume performing. BeauSoleil are one of the few Creole/Cajun groups to win a Grammy. La Douceur can be found on their 2013 CD From Bamako to Carencro. The video was made from a live performance in the Cumberland Caverns of McMinnville, Tennessee.

Sooner or Later: Beausoleil and "Carencro"

At some point, when you work with Cajun/Creole music involving Louisiana artists, you will run into Beausoleil. And you should. This group is one of the preeminent groups in music of this genre. I think that possibly the first Cajun/Creole/Zydeco album I owned was by Wayne Toups and Zydecajun because I had seen them perform in concert. But I'm sure the second album of that genre that I owned was a Beausoleil album. They are a bit more low key than some of the more animated zydeco bands, though they draw on that tradition. This probably comes from the fact that they tend to be a bit more rooted in traditional folk. However, the music they present is exciting and fun, and because of their efforts, they are one of the few bands in this genre that have won a Grammy award.

Beausoleil was founded in 1975, released its first album in 1977 and became one of the most well-known groups from playing traditional and original music in the Creole tradition of Louisiana. They have also gone beyond the traditional, incorporating rock and roll, jazz, blues, calypso and other genres. They are an extensive touring band, and they sing in both English and Colonial Louisiana French. The band takes its name from Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil, who led the Acadian resistance to British deportation from Canada and led 193 exiles to safety in Louisiana. The band almost didn't come to be - Michael Doucet, one of the founders, was going to New Mexico to study Romantic Poets, but he won a Folk Arts Apprenticeship sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. As he puts it: "I traded William Blake for Dewey Balfa," and he sought out every living Cajun/Creole performer to learn what he could about Cajun music and their techniques. He even encouraged some to resume performing. They are one of the few Creole/Cajun groups to win a Grammy. This song, Carencro, is from their 2013 CD From Bamako to Carencro.

World Apart: Wyclef Jean and "24 É Tan Pou Viv"

One of the difficulties I often have is deciding whether something is world music. Megan and I tend to be a bit expansive on our show when we pick music. Our criteria usually runs this way: 1) Is the artist from somewhere other than the United States? 2) If not, is the artist fit loosely into a world genre? and 3) Do we like it or does it have some reason that it should be heard?

This still creates some conundrums. Should we play the Finnish rockabilly band covering a Johnny Cash song? Is that world? Or, just because some American pop artist puts a few words of another language in a song or even allows an artist from another country to sing on a song, does that make it a world song? What about foreign bands that play rock, or blues, or jazz? We usually stay away from reggae, because the station has a reggae show, but there is a lively debate on whether reggae is considered world music. We have played songs with reggae beats in them, but usually if they are infused with other genres. Folk music comes from all countries, but is American folk world music? We usually stay away from that because there are at least a couple of folk shows on our station.

So, what often happens is that we play it by ear. We stick fairly firmly to other countries but throw in some American acts that meet our subjective criteria. If the song is of a genre like rock, jazz or blues even though it is from a foreign artist, we listen to it, read about it, and make some kind of decision. After all, we don't want to be totalitarian over what is considered world and global, and ultimately our shows have a good mix that sometimes stretches the boundaries of what can be called "world."

While Wyclef Jean in some of his music would have us thinking about whether to include him, this song, 24 É Tan Pou Viv, would not make us hesitate. Wyclef Jean, despite his time spent in the United States as a part of the American pop music scene with The Fugees, is from Haiti and clearly identifies with his culture. He also clearly made this song to highlight Haiti and its culture. He is using a genre developed in the US, hip hip and rap, but he includes influences from the Caribbean and does his rapping in French creole (which I particularly like). So, we would (and did!) play this song on our show without any hesitations.

Multiple Grammy-winning artist Wyclef Jean first came to fame in the US music business, but this Haitian hip hop artist, actor, and politician is also a humanitarian who has established a foundation to aid his native country. Born in Haiti, he moved with his family to New Jersey in 1982. A founding member of The Fugees (their name was a reference to Haitian refugees), he rose to prominence with the rest of the band as they released highly successful albums in the 1990s. In the late 1990s, he embarked on a solo career and collaborated with other artists such as Youssou N'Dour, Earth Wind and Fire and Shakira. His foundation, Yéle Haiti, has aided in the aftermath of Hurricane Jeanne and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Additionally, in 2010 he made a bid to run for president of Haiti, but his candidacy was turned down by the Electoral Council because he did not meet minimum residency requirements. He has released 10 solo albums, with another in the works. 24 É Tan Pou Viv is from his 2004 album Welcome to Haiti: Creole 101.