Album Notes

ANN SAVOY & HER SLEEPLESS KNIGHTS Ann Savoy never rests musically. She and the players have produced a hugely enjoyable and timeless recording. – Richard Thompson In the world of Cajun music, Ann Savoy is one of the most admired icons of the genre. She’s a singer with a gift for subtlety and nuance, an adept musician and producer. Beyond that, as a writer and photographer, she has extensively documented the unique music and culture of Southwest Louisiana. Now, with the May 15th release of Ann Savoy & Her Sleepless Knights, she’s making music that breaks new ground while maintaining respect for the traditions of the past. She, together with her all-star band, has made an album of jazz-tinged music that is, at once, swinging and sultry. With both down home and cosmopolitan overtones, it’s a unique work that is certain to find an audience far removed from the Louisiana prairie and bayou land that birthed it. Born and raised in Richmond, VA, she began playing guitar as a pre-teen and went on to become a French major at the University of Virginia. She met Cajun music traditionalist Marc Savoy more than thirty years ago at the National Folk Festival in Washington, DC. The two soon married and went on to raise four children. Ann would write Cajun Music: A Reflection of a People, a Botkin Book Award winner, a chronicle of the history of Cajun and Zydeco music, an essential source for anyone interested in Cajun or Creole culture. As a musician, she’s been involved in Cajun music both with her husband and compatriots in Savoy Doucet Band, with her Marc and their sons Joel and Wilson in the Savoy Family Band and with her all-woman band The Magnolia Sisters. She most recently collaborated with Linda Ronstadt on Adieu False Heart and received a Grammy ® nomination for her efforts. She was previously nominated for a Grammy for the tribute album Evangeline Made that featured Ronstadt, John Fogerty, Nick Lowe, Rodney Crowell and Richard and Linda Thompson and followed that up with Creole Bred, a tribtue to Creole and Zydeco music featuring such notables as Cyndi Lauper, Taj Majal and Tom Tom Club. Ann Savoy & Her Sleepless Knights features jazz virtuosos and old friends Tom Mitchell (guitar) and Kevin Wimmer (fiddle) along with Eric Frey (upright bass) Chas Justus (guitar), Glenn Fields (drums) as well as her sons Wilson and Joel Savoy on piano and guitar, respectively. The album was produced by Joel along with Tom Mitchell and Ann in Eunice, Louisiana, all of the music having been recorded live with no “fixing.” The group breathes fresh air into standards and traditional songs, some in French but speaking a universal language to the listener. From sensual love songs to original songs of local color and humor, Ann and the guys bring forth their superb artistry with a relaxed, fun filled feeling.