Closing Night.
The six-week Boulevard Music Summer Concert Series in the Courtyard of City Hall harmonizes to an end tonight, wafting away on the popular strains of zydeco music.
Bonne Musique Zydeco is the attractiion, and no one will sleep while they are in the neighborhood.
The music starts at 7, but socializing begins hours earlier as fans await the final welcome from producer Gary Mandell.
Bonne Musique Zydeco, which means “good zydeco music,” is a six-member band specializing in the Creole music of Louisiana and east Texas.
BMZ draws upon the style of traditional Cajun and Creole musicians, and the influences of the blues and New Orleans artists of the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s to create a blend of music designed for dancing.
Bervick J. Deculus, a native of Louisiana, bass player and leader of BMZ, founded the band in 1991. He is carrying on the tradition of his well-known family, which includes internationally recognized, Grammy Award winners Queen Ida and Al Rapone, and the innovative Beau Jocque, a circuit to draw in the area between New Orleans and Houston, who also gained international popularity before his early death in 1999.
Bonne Musique Zydeco B has featured several accomplished accordionists and recording artists, namely, Al Rapone, Willis Prudhomme, Jo Jo Reed, Christopher P. Ardoin and Bryant Keith Broussard.
Many of these artists are featured on BMZ’s first recorded CD, Gumbo Mix. BMZ still enjoys arranging performances with these Louisiana musicians. BMZ has gained a strong reputation on the West Coast for bringing native Louisianans and people of all ages and cultures out to dance.
The members of BMZ are all veteran musicians featuring Gee Rabe on accordion and Billy Butler on drums, lead vocals and rubboard.
