Insight
A series in which musicians give us insight into the background of one of their recordings
Mô Kouzin Mö Kouzinn
by Benoit LeBlanc
Taking a musical journey back in time, Benoit LeBlanc revisits Creole music from a time before Cajun and Jazz sounds became synonymous with Louisiana in his album Mô Kouzin Mö Kouzinn. On the album he revisits Creole Folk music born in living rooms and on front porches. Of the process, Benoit LeBlanc shares that "I wanted, by making this record, to bring this music back to life. Some songs have already been recorded, especially the Jazz pieces in Creole. Several have never been put on record. Of the twenty-seven tracks there are eight songs recorded with a band. I wanted to give these songs a distinctly Creole sound. To do this, the choice of musicians and their instruments was of primary importance".
"Mò kouzin, mò kouzinn" is a collection of 27 historical pre-jazz songs featuring original Slave narratives, Afro-Caribbean rhythms and laments, that played an important role in the genesis of Americana musical heritage. It is the result of several years of research in the very neglected corpus of the musical heritage of the slaves and free people of colour of the nineteenth and early 20th centuries. This music has affinities with what was heard at the same time in Haiti, Martinique and Guadeloupe. We know about field hollers but not about the satirical and rhythmic songs of the Creole slaves. Listen to Lé zoñon:
Jazz historians almost always mention the mythical Congo Square when they talk about the genesis of jazz. You will hear on this album some songs that were sung in Congo Square during the first half of the nineteenth century in New Orleans.....Not only is the existence of such a musical heritage largely unknown, most people don’t even know that the Creole language - called Kouri-Vini - is still spoken in Louisiana. This record is proof that this language is alive and well. And beautiful.​
"Cajun-French bandleader Benoit LeBlanc nods to New Orleans VooDoo high priestess with “Danse Marie Leveau”. Letting a single voice soar to tell the tale in “Kalinda”, the pace slows to support the somber melodies of “Moulin” and “Mize” as Mô Kouzin Mö Kouzinn showcases a future for horns with the warm groove of “Un not Kankan”. Benoit LeBlanc returns to gentle sways and dirt floor dances to bring Creole music of the past into 2024." (by Danny McCloskey for The Alternate Root)
The album Mò kouzin, mò kouzinn is available to sample and to buy here.
© Sandy Brown Jazz 2025.8