Across the Atchafalaya Basin — away from the jazz, blues, brass
bands, second line processions, and parades of New Orleans —
there exists along the bayous, crawfish ponds, and rice fields of
the prairie lands of Southwest Louisiana, a uniquely Louisianan
cultural area with its own music and dance traditions — that
of the French-speaking Louisiana Creole people. Descendants
of the mixing of free people of color, Native Americans, French
and Spanish settlers, their rich culture has existed for hundreds
of years.
Creole and Cajun musical traditions have diverged and evolved
separately in this region. Those with Cajun background are
descendants of displaced white settlers from Acadia (now Nova
Scotia in Canada) who refused to take an oath of loyalty to the
English king in the 1755 Grand Dérangement. While much
music is shared cross-culturally, Creole is a distinct culture.
Originally called Creole music, French music, or la-la music,
Zydeco's musical roots go back to European, African, and
Caribbean musical traditions, with syncopated rhythms. Jeffery
Broussard's path to becoming one of the most influential accordionists and vocalists in modern Zydeco music is rich in tradition, struggle, and hard times.
Born in Lafayette, Louisiana to Ethel and Delton Broussard,
Jeffery is the youngest of eleven children (with five brothers and
five sisters). The family lived in Frilot Cove, Louisiana, a rural
community northwest of Opelousas, on a farm where his father was a sharecropper. His father left sharecropping to work for an
oil company when Jeffery was thirteen, and his mother died of
cancer two years later. Jeffery left school after seventh grade in
order to farm full time (digging and sorting potatoes) to help
make ends meet. He grew up fishing in the bayous, riding horses
across the fields with friends, and most of all, working hard.
As is the case with many Zydeco musicians, Jeffery's career started very early in life (at the age of 8) playing drums in his father's
band, the renowned Delton Broussard & The Lawtell Playboys.
Whenever possible, Jeffery would sneak his daddy's accordion
down from the closet where it was stored and would teach
himself how to play. During his teen years, Jeffery also played
drums in his oldest brother Clinton's band, Clinton Broussard &
The Zydeco Machines. It was in this band that Jeffery played the
accordion in public for the first time. Zydeco music is played on
a variety of accordions, but most commonly the triple-row and
single-row diatonic button accordions. The fiddle is essential to
authentic roots Zydeco, and Jeffery is one of a handful of Creole
fiddlers currently touring. He plays his own style, developed
using only two fingers on the strings, sometimes a third, but
never a fourth. He plays by sliding into and out of the notes.
It's quite possible that without the struggle and hard times he
experienced in life, Jeffery could not sing and play with the
emotion and the soul he expresses. His range, seldom seen in
Zydeco, includes traditional songs of the old masters, original
tunes, single-note and triple-note accordion, and fiddle. Jeffery was a sharecropper. His father left sharecropping to work for an
oil company when Jeffery was thirteen, and his mother died of
cancer two years later. Jeffery left school after seventh grade in
order to farm full time (digging and sorting potatoes) to help
make ends meet. He grew up fishing in the bayous, riding horses
across the fields with friends, and most of all, working hard.
As is the case with many Zydeco musicians, Jeffery's career started very early in life (at the age of 8) playing drums in his father's
band, the renowned Delton Broussard & The Lawtell Playboys.
Whenever possible, Jeffery would sneak his daddy's accordion
down from the closet where it was stored and would teach
himself how to play. During his teen years, Jeffery also played
drums in his oldest brother Clinton's band, Clinton Broussard &
The Zydeco Machines. It was in this band that Jeffery played the
accordion in public for the first time. Zydeco music is played on
a variety of accordions, but most commonly the triple-row and
single-row diatonic button accordions. The fiddle is essential to
authentic roots Zydeco, and Jeffery is one of a handful of Creole
fiddlers currently touring. He plays his own style, developed
using only two fingers on the strings, sometimes a third, but
never a fourth. He plays by sliding into and out of the notes.
It's quite possible that without the struggle and hard times he
experienced in life, Jeffery could not sing and play with the
emotion and the soul he expresses. His range, seldom seen in
Zydeco, includes traditional songs of the old masters, original
tunes, single-note and triple-note accordion, and fiddle. Jeffery was a sharecropper. His father left sharecropping to work for an
oil company when Jeffery was thirteen, and his mother died of
cancer two years later. Jeffery left school after seventh grade in
order to farm full time (digging and sorting potatoes) to help
make ends meet. He grew up fishing in the bayous, riding horses
across the fields with friends, and most of all, working hard.
As is the case with many Zydeco musicians, Jeffery's career started very early in life (at the age of 8) playing drums in his father's
band, the renowned Delton Broussard & The Lawtell Playboys.
Whenever possible, Jeffery would sneak his daddy's accordion
down from the closet where it was stored and would teach
himself how to play. During his teen years, Jeffery also played
drums in his oldest brother Clinton's band, Clinton Broussard &
The Zydeco Machines. It was in this band that Jeffery played the
accordion in public for the first time. Zydeco music is played on
a variety of accordions, but most commonly the triple-row and
single-row diatonic button accordions. The fiddle is essential to
authentic roots Zydeco, and Jeffery is one of a handful of Creole
fiddlers currently touring. He plays his own style, developed
using only two fingers on the strings, sometimes a third, but
never a fourth. He plays by sliding into and out of the notes.
It's quite possible that without the struggle and hard times he
experienced in life, Jeffery could not sing and play with the
emotion and the soul he expresses. His range, seldom seen in
Zydeco, includes traditional songs of the old masters, original
tunes, single-note and triple-note accordion, and fiddle. Jeffery Broussard is one of the genre's most dynamic performers.
Whether he is playing a festival stage in front of thousands of
dancers, a small theater of seated patrons, giving an interview,
teaching a lesson, or playing at a trail ride, his warmth, love of
the music, and talent shine. Jeffery Broussard is the real deal.
Dedicated to preserving and promoting the Creole culture and
traditional Zydeco music, he plays with passion and commitment. “I love my music and I love my culture,” says Jeffery. “I
am proud and honored to be a part of it. By playing traditional
music, that is my way of giving back to my community, to
my culture, and to get others interested in the music, in other
parts of the country, and to fulfill my Daddy's dream
Jeffery, a completely self-taught musician, does not read music,
and learns by ear. He discusses creating music by ear, focusing
on rhythm and feel, improvising, how he creates new chords,
and the history and oral traditions of how Zydeco music is
passed on from generation to generation.
Although accordion is his main instrument, Jeffery plays guitar, bass, fiddle, and percussion instruments (drums, triangle,
and scrubboard), in keeping with the traditional Zydeco style.
He discusses the heart and soul of singing, call and response
singing traditions — including Juré — and the Creole/Zydeco
tradition of incorporating the sounds of the region (trains and
barnyard animals, to name some) into the vocals and instrumentation of the songs.
Other educational offerings include dance lessons and Juré
workshops. Zydeco music is traditionally dance music, and lessons typically cover the two basic dance steps in Zydeco — the
two-step and the waltz. Juré (pronounced joo-RAY) is a traditional form of call-and-response style singing that originated in
Southwest Louisiana. Jeffery and the band can give demonstrations and teach this technique in workshop settings.
Jeffery and the band also perform for schools and groups
of children. They provide interactive presentations about
Louisiana music and culture, play some songs, and teach
Zydeco dance lessons, including basic steps of the waltz and
two-step.
