The best from the beau of zydeco

One of the greatest injustices in the history of American popular music is that zydeco remains a style on the fringes -- a form of Americana that has never broken through to mass popularity.\nSuch a crime has never been more apparent than when reviewing the career of Beau Jocque, born Andrus Espre. In the 1990s, he was on the verge of becoming the modern king of zydeco before suffering a fatal heart attack two years ago.\nThere's good reason for his success. Jocque was a master of melding different musical forms, including funk and R&B, with the traditional Creole sound. The brilliant results can be seen in his version of John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillun," which Jocque works into a ZZ Top-like rave-up, in a freewheeling, no-holds-barred covered of War's "Cisco Kid" and a laid back version of Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," which shows the dying protagonist at peace with his fate.\nBoth of those tracks are on this best-of collection, as is Jocque's signature tune, "Give Him Cornbread," and other originals like "Going to the Country" and "Slip and Dip It."\nBut even more important than Jocque's musical sense is his willingness to let it all hang out, both in the studio and on stage, where, at 6'6", he presented an imposing, almost dark figure. The music is charged with an energy and vitality rarely seen in popular music today. Jocque's raw enthusiasm is even more satisfying given the fact that he had chronic back problems for much of his life.\nBeau Jocque is now gone, but his music remains as a testament to the power of American roots music and all the guts and glory it embodies. If each one of us lived life the way Jocque played music -- with an open heart and an open mind -- we'd certainly all be better off.