Michael Doucet
Encyclopedia
Michael Doucet is a Cajun
fiddler
, singer and songwriter who founded the Cajun band BeauSoleil
from Lafayette, Louisiana
.
In 2005 Doucet was one of 12 recipients of the National Heritage Fellowship
by the National Endowment for the Arts
. The NEA award, which recognizes artistic excellence, cultural authenticity and an artist's contributions, is the highest honor in U.S. folk and traditional arts. Doucet received Grammy Awards in both 1998 and 2009 for work with Beausoleil.
He was named a 2007 USA Collins Family Foundation Fellow and awarded a $50,000 grant by United States Artists
, a public charity that supports and promotes the work of American artists. In 2008, he released From Now On, his solo cajun fiddle album, on Smithsonian Folkways
.
He learned the banjo
by age six, the guitar
by his eighth year, and was researching Cajun music as a college student. In his youth he performed as part of a duo at a music festival in France
. At the festival he was exposed to centuries-old French music, which he identified with the Cajun music of French Louisiana
.
In 1975, Doucet received an NEA Folk Arts Apprenticeship Grant to study Cajun fiddle styles from masters such as Varise Conner, Hector Duhon, Canray Fontenot
, Lionel LeLeux, and Dennis McGee
.
Doucet's individual style incorporated elements of Western swing
, 1930’s string band
and Creole music, into traditional Cajun music
. Doucet learned late 19th century and 20th century tunes passed on by McGee. He revived many the old Cajun songs that had not been recorded and whose musicians of that era were gone.
In 1977, Doucet started educating public school children about Cajun music. Later as an adjunct professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
, he designed and taught the first university course on Cajun music.
Doucet was originally a member of the mid-1970s Cajun/rock band called Coteau. During that same time some of his friends and he formed his current band, BeauSoleil, which was purer to Cajun musical tradition. He also performs with the bands Fiddlers 4 and The Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band (with Marc Savoy
).
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
fiddler
Fiddler
A fiddler is a person who plays a fiddle or violin.Fiddler may also refer to:*Fabrangen Fiddlers, an American musical group founded in 1971*Tupolev Tu-28 "Fiddler", a fighter aircraft*Fiddler , a DC Comics villain...
, singer and songwriter who founded the Cajun band BeauSoleil
Beausoleil
BeauSoleil is an American musical group specializing in Cajun music. Based in Lafayette, Louisiana, the group members are brothers Michael Doucet and David Doucet , Jimmy Breaux , Billy Ware , Tommy Alesi , and Mitchell Reed .-Band history:Founded in 1975, BeauSoleil BeauSoleil (French, beautiful...
from Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...
.
In 2005 Doucet was one of 12 recipients of the National Heritage Fellowship
National Heritage Fellowship
The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts...
by the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
. The NEA award, which recognizes artistic excellence, cultural authenticity and an artist's contributions, is the highest honor in U.S. folk and traditional arts. Doucet received Grammy Awards in both 1998 and 2009 for work with Beausoleil.
He was named a 2007 USA Collins Family Foundation Fellow and awarded a $50,000 grant by United States Artists
United States Artists
United States Artists is an independent nonprofit and nongovernmental philanthropic organization based in Los Angeles, California and dedicated to supporting the work of living American artists by the granting of cash awards, called USA Fellowships...
, a public charity that supports and promotes the work of American artists. In 2008, he released From Now On, his solo cajun fiddle album, on Smithsonian Folkways
Smithsonian Folkways
Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was founded in 1987 after the family of Moses Asch, founder of Folkways...
.
He learned the banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
by age six, the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
by his eighth year, and was researching Cajun music as a college student. In his youth he performed as part of a duo at a music festival in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. At the festival he was exposed to centuries-old French music, which he identified with the Cajun music of French Louisiana
French Louisiana
The term French Louisiana refers to two distinct regions:* first, to colonial French Louisiana, comprising the massive, middle section of North America claimed by France; and,...
.
In 1975, Doucet received an NEA Folk Arts Apprenticeship Grant to study Cajun fiddle styles from masters such as Varise Conner, Hector Duhon, Canray Fontenot
Canray Fontenot
Canray Fontenot was an American Creole fiddle player, who has been described as "the greatest black Louisiana French fiddler of our time."-Early life:...
, Lionel LeLeux, and Dennis McGee
Dennis McGee
Dennis McGee was one of the earliest recorded Cajun musicians.A fiddle player, he recorded and performed with black Creole accordionist and vocalist Amédé Ardoin, with accordionist Angelas LeJeune, and with fiddlers Sady Courville and Ernest Frugé...
.
Doucet's individual style incorporated elements of Western swing
Western swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...
, 1930’s string band
String band
A string band is an old-time music or jazz ensemble made up mainly or solely of string instruments. String bands were popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and are among the forerunners of modern country music and bluegrass.-String bands in old-time music:...
and Creole music, into traditional Cajun music
Cajun music
Cajun music, an emblematic music of Louisiana, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem with the Creole-based, Cajun-influenced zydeco form, both of Acadiana origin...
. Doucet learned late 19th century and 20th century tunes passed on by McGee. He revived many the old Cajun songs that had not been recorded and whose musicians of that era were gone.
In 1977, Doucet started educating public school children about Cajun music. Later as an adjunct professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, or UL Lafayette, is a coeducational, public research university located in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana...
, he designed and taught the first university course on Cajun music.
Doucet was originally a member of the mid-1970s Cajun/rock band called Coteau. During that same time some of his friends and he formed his current band, BeauSoleil, which was purer to Cajun musical tradition. He also performs with the bands Fiddlers 4 and The Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band (with Marc Savoy
Marc Savoy
Marc Savoy is an American musician, and builder and player of the Cajun accordion.Savoy holds a degree in chemical engineering but his primary income is derived from his accordion-making business, based at his Savoy Music Center in Eunice, Louisiana. His wife is the singer and guitarist Ann Savoy,...
).
External links
- Louisiana Folklife Center - Michael Doucet bio
- http://www.nsula.edu/folklife/database/biography/doucetM.html
- Collins Family Foundation 2007 Fellows
- United States Artists Arts Advocacy Organization.