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Special Guests BEAUSOLEIL's name (French for "good
sun") is taken from a region of Nova Scotia, settled in the 17th
century by French people who later fled to New Orleans when asked to
declare their allegiance to the French or the English. These settlers
are credited with the beginnings of Cajun (Acadian) music, which began
as the settlers' old French songs mixed with the Louisiana country music.
Because Michael Doucet, the leader of BeauSoleil, grew up when traditional
Cajun culture was on the decline, he played rock 'n' roll and New Orleans-style
swamp pop in high school before playing French music in an improvisational
group called Coteau. After Coteau, described as the "Cajun Grateful
Dead," was invited to play a festival in France, Doucet returned
to the States with a new appreciation for his own culture. He received
a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and spent years tracking
down the artists who had written and sung on the first Cajun records.
In 1977, Doucet and BeauSoleil had their American debut album, The
Spirit of Cajun Music. Now in their third decade, BeauSoleil has
secured their position as America's most popular Cajun group, receiving
nationwide attention, including nine Grammy nominations and numerous
Big Easy Awards. 2001 saw the release of BeauSoleil's latest recording,
Looking Back Tommorrow - BeauSoleil Live (Rhino), along with
a retrospective entitled The Best of the Crawfish Years 1985-1991
(Rounder). The six members of BeauSoleil are: Michael Doucet (Violin,
Guitar, Accordion, Mandolin, Vocals), David Doucet (Guitar, Vocals),
Jimmy Breaux (Accordion), Al Tharp (Bass, Fiddle, Banjo, Electric Guitar),
Billy Ware (Percussion), and Tommy Alesi (Drums). Now in his twelfth season as principal cello of the
Minnesota Orchestra, ANTHONY ROSS plays a $750,000 instrument.
Although he only borrows it, a wealthy arts patron purchased the cello
expressly for his use. Ross, knowing the man owned many fine instruments,
simply asked him to consider purchasing a cello for him to play. The
arts patron accepted and Ross learned a great lesson; "If you never
ask, you never know." Through the years, Ross has soloed at subscription
concerts in works of Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Saint Saëns,
Lalo, Bloch and David Ott, and most recently was featured in performances
of the Elgar Concerto. He was the recipient of the bronze medal at the
1982 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, prompting Pravda to praise his
"exceptional mastery and brilliantly sensitive cello performances."
His numerous other prizes include the Stulberg Award, the G.B. Dealy
Award, a McKnight Fellowship, and the Parisot International Cello Competition.
Before coming to Minnesota, Ross served as principal cello of the Rochester
Philharmonic in New York, and taught at the Eastman School of Music.
He is one of the musicians associated with the Chamber Music Society
of Minnesota and has performed at the Colorado Music Festival, Rhodes
Music Festival in Greece, and Festival Mozart in France, among others. |
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Singer and songwriter Andra Suchy talks about singing duets with Garrison, and her latest album, Little Heart.
Old Sweet Songs: A Prairie Home Companion 1974-1976
Lovingly selected from the earliest archives of A Prairie Home Companion, this heirloom collection represents the music from earliest years of the now legendary show: 1974–1976. With songs and tunes from jazz pianist Butch Thompson, mandolin maestro Peter Ostroushko, Dakota Dave Hull and the first house band, The Powdermilk Biscuit Band (Adam Granger, Bob Douglas and Mary DuShane).
