Jeffery Broussard
American zydeco musician / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jeffery Broussard (born March 10, 1967) is an American zydeco musician.
Jeffery Broussard | |
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Born | (1967-03-10) March 10, 1967 (age 57) Lafayette, Louisiana |
Genres | Zydeco |
Instrument(s) | Accordion, vocals, bass, guitar, fiddle |
Labels | Maison de Soul |
Member of | Jeffery Broussard and the Creole Cowboys |
Formerly of |
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Website | creolecowboys |
Broussard was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, to parents Ethel and Delton Broussard. He had five brothers and sisters, and he was the youngest child. During Jeffery's childhood, the family lived in Frilot Cove, near Opelousas, Louisiana, and his father worked as a sharecropper.[1] Jeffery also worked much on the farm, leaving school after the seventh grade in order to help his family.[2]
Jeffery Broussard's father was also an accomplished musician, and Jeffery was exposed to music early. His mother, Ethel, performed a cappella juré music at home.[3] Broussard joined his father's band during childhood and went on to become a bandleader in his own right, first with musically innovative Zydeco Force, and then with Jeffery Broussard and the Creole Cowboys. One writer has described Broussard this way: he "wears his rural roots when he takes the stage. With his white-straw cowboy hat, silver-plated rodeo belt and black boots, it's as if he just jumped off a horse. He never removes his trademark toothpick from the corner of his mouth, even as he sings in a raspy, bluesy tenor and plays his single-row and triple-row accordions with fluttering triplets and melodic detours."[4] Broussard has stated that Boozoo Chavis and—in contrast—his father are especially strong stylistic influences on his playing.[3] Broussard has performed on a variety of instruments over the years, including drums, diatonic accordion, guitar, bass, and fiddle.[1][4][5]