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The breathtaking beauty of the bayous, marshes and barrier islands of Louisiana’s coast have captivated Tab Benoit from the time that he first saw them as a child flying in a sea plane with his father to the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. It was just one of the perks for a youngster living in Houma, a petroleum and fishing town a two hour drive from Baton Rouge where Benoit was born in 1967.
An advocate of the state’s rich cultural heritage, an out spoken crusader for the preservation of its vanishing wetlands and a staunch fan of the New Orleans Saints, Benoit is a champion of all things Louisiana. A poster boy for the quintessential twenty-first century blues man, he has parlayed his Tabasco-laced rock ‘n’ blues take on Cajun music into a 2006 Grammy nomination as well as a remarkable string of Blues Music Awards for Contemporary Male Artist (2006, 2007 and 2008!) and Contemporary Blues Album (2006).
The guitar that he got for his ninth birthday was both a joy and a problem for Benoit who could never quite stake out territory in Creole music dominated by fiddles, accordions and rub boards. “That’s where the blues came in,” says a self-taught Benoit. “I never sat down and tried to learn scales; I just enjoyed playing what I felt.”
Looking for acceptance, he started hanging out at club jam sessions in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Lacking a day job, Benoit never turned down a gig. “I was playing with a lot of different bands,” he recalls. “If they wanted country or 1950s rock ‘n’ roll, we did it. We did weddings, parties, funerals, whatever. We played anywhere and we’d go anywhere.”
Since 1992, Benoit has released thirteen CDs. Brimming over with his leather and chilli vocals and clean-toned, off the cuff fret work, they have earned him such colourful nicknames as The Cajun Blues Master, Louisiana’s #1 Roots Music Export and “the green-eyed alligator”. His latest musical excursion is 2008’s top-selling Night Train to Nashville (Telarc).
While he can toy with a riff like a tom cat with a ball of yarn Benoit avoids the hot dog approach to soloing of most contemporary guitar players. “Every note has a specific purpose,” he explains. “It’s mostly about the dynamics of it, how it flows, and the language that it’s speaking.”
Fans take effusive delight in Benoit’s impromptu live performances. “Because our gigs are never planned, the songs are always gonna come out different,” he elaborates. “I always allow the audience to be a part of it and go with the moment. You never want to pass up an opportunity to have something happen that you’d never see happen again.”
Ultimately, Tab Benoit plays and lives from the heart. “All I’m really trying to do here,” he asserts, “is encourage people to take care of the things that they love. Take care of yourself, your culture, the Earth, take care of each other and make this a better place.” www.tabbenoit.com
Ken Wright
