Médikamen

Now 15 albums deep, the music of Texas-born, Louisiana-living zydeco busker Corey Ledet remains as vital as ever. However, this time it’s personal, with Ledet taking listeners on a journey of family reclamation via his latest long player, Médikamen. While the subject matter has shifted, the intent hasn’t, meaning Ledet is firmly straddling the line between ragtime, jazz, be-bop, zydeco and good ol’ fashioned Creole blues. To be sure, the inherent message here is one of roots, culture, and country, as evidenced by accordion-filled cuts like ‘Alon Kouri Laba’ and ‘Kofè T’fé Ça’. But what truly shines is the fluid collaboration between Ledet and fellow scene veterans such as Lee Allen Zeno, who plays bass, and Lucien ‘Big Lou’ Hayes on guitar, along with Cecil Green, who lends his Hammond B3 and Fender Rhodes talents throughout. Recorded at Dockside Studios in Maurice, Louisiana, and presented entirely in Ledet’s native Creole language of Kouri-Vini, which nicely accents the vibe of 1800s family roots, Médikamen isn’t just ambitious, it’s perhaps Ledet’s most personal and all-encompassing triumph yet.