Make the Veiller

Formed in 1975 by fiddler Michael Doucet, Beausoleil has always kept the traditional music of Acadiana at the center of things, even as the group has expanded and brought elements of jazz, zydeco, blues, calypso, and swamp pop into the music. They're also a dance band, and though the group has recorded several albums, and gone through fairly frequent personnel changes (Doucet and his brother, guitarist David Doucet, are the constants at the core of the band), Beausoleil's mix of loose 2-steps, stately waltzes, and swampy dance reels have always been structured for motion and movement. This set, recorded live in an intimate setting with a small audience in 2007, serves as a sort of career retrospective for this impressive little band, always at its best when there's a dancefloor in sight. Highlights include the gloriously lurching "Cajun Crawl," the swampy stomp of "Zydeco Gris Gris," and the post-Katrina poignancy of "Mardi Gras Song," but all of the 14 tracks on the CD are cut from the same delightful cloth. Also included is a DVD of the show, and the combination provides a great portrait of a stubbornly consistent and still fun and vital band some 30-plus years into things. Steve Leggett.