Juliet Varnedoe: Cajun Bleu

New York City vocalist Juliet Varnedoe has developed a keen feel for the collective music of New Orleans. Her first single from her self produced 2022 release Cajun Blue, "Mon Chéri" revealed an international approach to the regional music that freely mixed Dixieland with zydeco, the blues, and sleek Caribbean sounds, creating a languid, humid and organic breeze.

On her follow-up single, "Sing High Sing Low," Varnedoe swerves hard into the direction of zydeco, taking full advantage of Jon Dryden's accordion who meets Clark Clayton's tail gait trombone, crossing swords and creating a wonderful mashup style still looking for a name. The melody resembles Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel" (RCA, 1956) played over a NOLA shuffle beat driven out to the country where only francophone Creoles live. There is an element of the barrelhouse in Eric Pan's damped piano as the main solo break of the song before Varnedoe returns, singing in French that flows back into English as the song veers toward its melting pot coda, while the second line dances down the street.