Trailblazin’ Cajun

Beausoleil’s “Acadian Trail,” an ambitious program, arrives today at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. The concert, which traces the roots of Cajun music and features Beausoleil and the French Canadian folk group Ad Vielle Que Pourra, is certainly steeped in history.

Even so, it’s a forward-looking story with more chapters to be written. Through words and music, the “Acadian Trail” tells the plight of French settlers of eastern Canada who, after refusing to pledge loyalty to the British crown, were exiled in the 1750s.

Nearly 5,000 of them took refuge in the region of Eastern Canada known as Acadia (the modern-day Maritime provinces) and ultimately, the frontier bayous of Louisiana, where they preserved their language, religion and way of life.

Their descendants became known as Cajuns, an Americanized form of the word “Acadian.” Along with Spanish, French, Native American and African-American influences, the Cajuns developed their own music, cooking and customs.

More than 1 million Cajuns now live in the prairie country of southwest Louisiana. Still, according to Michael Doucet, the program’s host and Beausoleil founder, fiddler, singer and songwriter, the “Acadian Trail” offers no final destination; rather it is an ever-evolving journey filled with fresh, and perhaps unexpected, detours.

For Doucet, an Acadian descendant who grew up speaking French, the best way to honor and preserve tradition is to link the past to the present. Referring to Cajun music greats Dennis McGee, Dewey Balfa, Canray Fontenot and others, Doucet said, “When I was in my 20s, I was lucky enough to learn from the masters at a time when Cajun music wasn’t so in vogue. I developed a one-on-one relationship with these guys, and they would tell me, ‘This is how I play, but it isn’t how you should play.’

“I’ve learned hundreds of their songs, and once you understand the musical theories, you can create music that stretches, yet still fits within, the tradition,” he said over the phone from his home in Lafayette, La.

“This music is wrapped up in emotion, but maybe some of the more modern emotions aren’t adequately covered by the old songs. So with our new compositions, we’re trying to capture where we are now, which only adds to the preservation of Cajun music.”

Experimentation has marked the career of Beausoleil, which is approaching its 25th anniversary as arguably the best Cajun band on the planet. The sextet’s adventurous style is more pronounced than ever in the aptly titled “Cajunization,” which was released last year on Rhino Records.

Except for a pair of Dennis McGee tunes, the 14-track collection features all originals, ranging in style from Cuban dance music to jazz and blues to an electric surf-rock tune featuring guitarist Gerry McGee, the son of Dennis and a member of the Ventures.

Other unlikely contributors include slide guitarist Sonny Landreth, Nashville Dobro player Jerry Douglas and steel drummer Danny DeVillier. “Cajun music has always been evolving,” said Doucet, 48, who also plays from time to time in the more tradition-minded Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band. “That’s why throughout our career we don’t just play the two-steps and ballads, but blues, jazz, Tin Pan Alley, Texas swing and country. The only parameters are what feels right . . . It’s really an intangible but magical thing.”

Sharing the bill with Beausoleil, which also includes Doucet’s brother David on guitar, accordionist Jimmy Breaux, bassist Al Tharpe, drummer Tommy Alesi and percussionist Billy Ware, is Ad Vielle Que Pourra, whose name translates roughly to “come what may” and “hurdy-gurdy.’

The Quebec-based group plays a blend of the new and traditional, or as its leader Daniel Thonon calls it, “new French folk music.” Original compositions based on traditional French melodies mingle alongside songs from Brittany, Belgium, Paris and the Alps that use traditional instruments from those regions, including the hurdy-gurdy, French bagpipes and Breton oboes.

Ad Vielle Que Pourra is respectful of its past and the influences that have shaped its unique sound. But similar to Beausoleil, the band updates musical traditions in unexpected ways.

For instance, Gypsy waltzes, folk-rock, a Greek bluegrass number and a swing tune can all be heard on the band’s latest release, 1997’s “Menage a Quatre” (Xenophile).

“If people living in the 17th or 18th century thought music was something you can’t change, we’d probably be listening to medieval music right now,” Thonon said in a separate phone interview.

“It’s funny: Even though we play the original music that I write for the group, a lot of people in the audience think that it’s traditional--and that’s fine by me. Some American audiences even mistake us for a Cajun band,” he added with a chuckle. “But this time around [with Beausoleil], they’ll get to see a true one.”

So where did the idea for the Acadian Trail program come from? “I first met Daniel way back in ‘74, at this folk festival in France,” said Doucet. He’s this wild hurdy-gurdy player with a wonderful sense of humor and knowledge of history. I’ve seen him over the years, and not too long ago, we got to talking about how all these people keep asking questions about where French and Cajun music came from.

“So we decided to do put something together and take it on the road. This show, which is really driven by live music with just a few words spoken by me, gives people a taste of the different kinds of French music. There’s the more traditional stuff that Daniel and his band play from Europe and Canada, which is known for its melodies. But there’s also music from the prairies of Louisiana, and it’s the rhythms that carry Cajun lovers onto that dance floor.”

* Beausoleil presents “Acadian Trail” tonight at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive. 8 p.m. $24-$28. (949) 854-4646. Co-presented by the IBT and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, the concert is part of the “World Stages” series. “Acadian Trail” will also be presented Saturday at El Camino College, Marsee Auditorium, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance. 8 p.m. Adults, $23-$26,; children 12 and younger, $8. (310) 329-5345. (A limited dance area will be set aside in the Marsee Auditorium only.)