Bois Sec Ardoin
Alphonse "Bois Sec" Ardoin (born November 16, 1915 in Duralde , Louisiana , † May 16, 2007 in Eunice , Louisiana) was an American zydeco musician.
Life
Ardoin was considered one of the masters of the Cajun accordion . His date of birth is controversial, the sources vary between 1914 and 1916. He is said to have got his nickname "Bois Sec" (French for dry forest ) as a child, as he was always the first to find safety in the dry forest when it rains brought.
The son of farm workers also earned his living from farm work. At the age of 12 he learned to play the accordion from his cousin Amédé Ardoin , with whom he also performed. Unlike Amédé, however, Bois Sec did not become a professional musician - his mother was strictly against it.
From 1948 Bois Sec Ardoin appeared with the fiddle player Canray Fontenot as the "Duralde Ramblers". Her success even led to her participation in the renowned Newport Folk Festival in 1966. In the same year her best-known album Les Blues de Bayou was released . 1986 Ardoin and Fontenot were awarded the "National Endowment for the Arts the National Heritage Fellowship", the highest American honor for traditional art.
In the early 1970s, Ardoin was the front man of The Ardoin Brothers Band, which included his sons Morris, Gustave and Lawrence and Canray Fontenot. After Gustave's accidental death in 1974, Bois Sec seemed to have lost much of his passion for music, and he only performed sporadically.
Web links
- Biography at Allmusic Guide (engl.)
- "Bois Sec Ardoin, Musician and Nurturer of Creole Tradition, Dies at 91" (New York Times May 20, 2007)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ardoin, Bois Sec |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ardoin, Alphonse (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American Zydeco musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 16, 1915 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Duralde , Louisiana |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 16, 2007 |
| Place of death | Eunice , Louisiana |