By KATE LADDISH Entertainment correspondent Jimmy Breaux is one of the most celebrated Cajun accordionists of his generation. Breaux will bring his trio to The Palms Playhouse, 13 Main St. in Winters, on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 8 p.m. for a dance show. The trio includes fiddler Blake Miller of the Pine Leaf Boys and Red Stick Ramblers. Tickets are $22 in advance, $26 at the door, and $12 with student ID. Admission includes a group dance lesson with Ted Sherrod at 7:30 p.m. Breaux gained exposure outside his native Louisiana as a long-time member of the Grammy-winning Cajun band BeauSoleil. But his roots in the music go back –– way back. Breaux’s great-grandfather, Auguste Breaux, was an accomplished accordion player. Auguste’s children, including Jimmy’s accordion-playing grandfather, Amédé Breaux, formed Breaux Frères, or Breaux Brothers, close to a century ago. Amédé made the very the first recording of the song now known as “Jole Blon” (also called “Jolie Blonde”), the popular waltz that’s become so omnipresent in Cajun music that it’s referred to as the Cajun national anthem. Amédé Breaux sang and played accordion on the 1929 recording of what he called “Ma Blonde Est Partie” (“My Blonde Is Gone”), and either he or his sister Cléoma Breaux Falcon wrote the lyrics. The effects of that 1929 recording still reverberate. When PBS and BBC released a three-part, Robert Redford-narrated documentary in 2017 about seminal early American recorded music called “American Epic,” the producers gathered descendants of the Breaux Brothers –– including Jimmy Breaux –– to talk about their forebears and to record “Jole Blon” using the original instruments. In addition to his musical heritage, Jimmy Breaux is an established musician in his own right. As a very young man, he played with his stepfather, U.J. Meaux, and he had the requisite chops while still a teenager to join internationally touring Cajun band BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet. Breaux recorded about 15 albums with BeauSoleil, including their two Grammy winners, duirng his 20-plus years with the band. He retired from BeauSoleil in the early 2010s. Breaux has released three albums as a solo artist, including “Le Chemin Que T’as Pris,” which won the 1997 Le Cajun award. He plays accordion and drums in various Louisiana bands. Joining Breaux in the trio are Blake Miller on fiddle and vocals and Billy Wilson on rhythm guitar. Grandson of well-known accordion builder Larry Miller, Miller co-founded the popular young Cajun and Creole band, the Pine Leaf Boys, then joined the Red Stick Ramblers, and then co-co-founded The Revelers. When not playing with Breaux, Miller also plays accordion. Wilson has been playing Cajun and zydeco music in the Bay Area for more than 25 years. He has played with the likes of Dewey Balfa, Michael Doucet, Marc Savoy, Danny Poullard & the California Cajun Orchestra, D.L. Menard and John Delafose. He founded MotorDude Zydeco 30 years ago. The dance floor will be open. Tickets are available at Pacific Ace Hardware in Winters, Armadillo Music in Davis, Davids’ Broken Note in Woodland, online via The Palms’ website and Eventbrite and at the door if not sold out. For more information, visit palmsplayhouse.com. ]]>
Cajun dance show with Jimmy Breaux Trio at The Palms on Saturday, Nov. 23
