Rosie Ledet
It's A Groove Thing!
Maison De Soul Records (www.floydsrecords.com)

This is a hot summer night at a southwest jukejoint. Rosie Ledet is on stage, her head cocked to the right, black hair curled to her shoulders, fingers running the keyboard of her big zydeco accordion, and a slight smile on her pretty face. Rosie Ledet is having a good time; her lyrics make that explicit: "Get out on the floor/You know I like to watch!" As always, the floor for a Rosie Ledet show is packed. With only Queen Ida and a precious few other female bandleaders working the notoriously-macho zydeco circuit, Ledet is giving those squeezebox-slinging boyz, (Keith Frank, Buckwheat, C.J. Chenier, the late Beau Jocques et al.), a run for their money in the race to claim the Zydeco Crown once worn by the late great Clifton Chenier. Ledet's tuff-woman music makes her a true contender.

This CD gives a good taste of a Rosie Ledet dance-concert. The lyrics are sexy, the rhythms hypnotic, the fluid Cajun and piano accordion lines caress the ears. And Ledet never minces words: "So Damn Bad" and "Something Wicked" suggest sinful thrills the Dixie Chicks only wish they could find.

Ledet sings in her smooth and teasing style, with fine backing by Morris Ledet on bass, Cory Ledet on drums and Kent August on guitar. Keith Frank sits in on guitar on several cuts, with Wilfred "Caveman" Pierre providing essential rubboard accents. The band is augmented further by Pat Breaux on sax, Ed Gore on keyboards and Kevin Cormier on guitar, with Annie Jo Cormier singing backup. - Bill Nevins