It took swingin’ saxophonist Jerry Embree a moment of Hawaiian paradise
to have an epiphany. There, in the midst of a tropical scene that had all the
trappings of a Chevy Chase Hawaiian vacation, Embree realized he could provide
something comparable for the first time Louisiana visitor. Upon his stateside
return, he formed the Flavors of Louisiana, a combo cooking up the Pelican State’s
sonic flavors of jazz, zydeco, Cajun, Mardi Gras and R&B. Though there is
nothing here that any bone-crunching carnivore of Louisiana music hasn’t
devoured before, in its own way (other than some track re-sequencing), it works.
There are keyboard-fueled zydeco with Waylon Thibodeaux rosining up the bow;
struttin’ versions of “Saints” and “Hey Pocky Way,” Sunday
morning gospel grandeur with “Down By The Riverside” and its strolling
Saturday night counterpart with Bill Doggett’s “Honky Tonk.” With
Denise Hullette’s gemstone vocals, the Flavors’ princely treatment
of “Do You Know What It Means (To Miss New Orleans?)” will have magnolias
blooming early while a slew of enjoyable originals (“The Frog,” “What’s
The Matter With Me?”) will cause reveling conventioneers to miss the
nightly news. Instead they might just defect because by now they know what
it means.