New York based musical artist Juliet Varnedoe creates innovative Cajun French songs that reflect her pioneering, visionary spirit. She draws from her Louisiana roots to combine Acadian folk songs, electronic French pop, and New Orleans jazz traditions.
Michael Bailey from All About Jazz describes her first release Mon Chéri “a sultry and humid performance, recalling a Romantic long-ago memory sung with seductive cleverness and mirth.” Juliet Varnedoe Jazz Band features jazz musicians inspired by this unique combination of musical styles.
Bon Rétablissement (out on March 22) is the final single release from her debut album Cajun Bleu featuring Juliet Varnedoe Jazz Band. This major blues was inspired by an old Fats Domino song that Varnedoe heard in a Louisiana cafe in Breaux Bridge. She took the idea of “getting better” and wrote the lyrics and arrangements during her residency in south Louisiana. The band consists of Ben Rubin, producer, bass, mixer; Jon Dryden, accordion, and Juliet Varnedoe on keys and vocals. Varnedoe and Rubin combined electronic rhythms and percussion to create a homey, upbeat brew.
Her debut album Cajun Bleu including original compositions and unconventional jazz covers is planned for April 12. Cajun Bleu is a fresh modern take on New Orleans jazz and blues. Her songs are a series of stories influenced by the unique French American culture in the bayou lands of Louisiana, with stories of independence and discovery, wandering and homesickness, freedom and self-discovery. Steeped in the American jazz heritage, she creates Cajun French style music all her own.