Lucky Pierre LeBlanc has been a chameleon for much of his career, performing musical styles from soca to gospel. This time, he's gone country.
LeBlanc is revisiting his roots with a recently released CD of twoubadou tunes, a form of Haitian music created by migrant laborers on Cuban sugar plantations in the early 20th century.
For uninitiated ears, LeBlanc said the genre is similar to American country western. "This is traditional country music for Haitian people," he said.
LeBlanc, a Miramar resident, began putting his own spin on twoubadou more than two years ago. The result is "Poupe Kreyol," a mix of originals with a few old-time covers that dropped in November.
Its name comes from the title track, meaning "beautiful Creole doll." LeBlanc's been taking the songs live, singing and playing guitar in clubs backed by his Lucky Twoubadou Band.
The group also features bassist Ady Vaval, Jude Pierre-Louis on keyboards and Errnst Jean-Joseph on congas. Additional vocals are supplied by Roserby Theoc and Michel Ducasse.
To achieve an authentic twoubadou sound, the band performs with acoustic instruments. The exception is an electric keyboard.
LeBlanc admits he wouldn't have done a disc like "Poupe Kreyol" in his younger days. Growing up in the Carrefour district of Port-au-Prince and New York, he was more interested in compa and other popular forms of music.
With some 25 years of experience, LeBlanc's gone on to record two of his own compa CDs. He's also released r&b, soca and gospel albums. He became inspired to try twoubadou after listening to several projects done by a producer friend.
LeBlanc said he doesn't intend to make "Poupe Kreyol" his last twoubadou recording. "I will probably do a couple more," he said. "I enjoy it."
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