When Cedric Watson’s eponymous debut dropped in 2008, only the astute realized that this was not just a solo record by a talented Pine Leaf Boys member but a premonition of greater things to come. His amicable departure from the band made sense; Watson had too much to say about his Creole culture not to be his own front man. Fast forward to 2010 and Watson’s cultural immersion is even more evident. As the title L’Esprit Créole implies, the accordionist/ fiddler embraces the Louisiana Creole spirit that’s manifested throughout his original brand of music (Watson wrote 10 of the 12 tunes). He channels those who came before him and does it well, such as a crunchy John Delafose-style number (“Bijou Créole”), the R&B/jazz grooves of Clifton Chenier (“La Sud de La Louisiane”) and a blasting rendition of BéBé Carrière’s “Bluerunner.” Like his forebears, he sings nearly every tune in French and two in particular are sung in Creole, the dialect that’s primarily spoken along the Atchafalaya Basin.

Watson doesn’t stop there. He follows the Creole bloodlines to their ancestral Haitian homeland. On some tracks, he slows down the normally torrid dance tempos with Caribbean-styled melodies, horns, percussion and rhythms, while “Lafayette La La” represents the old-time precursor to zydeco and exudes natural Caribbean influences.

Watson doesn’t succumb to anyone else’s notion of what Créole/zydeco music should be, and long-time listeners of the genre will recognize riffs and embellishments―including the snap groove bass lines of “Bluerunner”―as being new and inventive. And maybe then they’ll realize that Watson is an innovator who is far from reaching his peak.