While not international music, we cannot dismiss the exotic blend that makes up American Zydeco.  The artist Cedric Watson is deeply infused with all things Creole.  His playing is expert and while mastering the best of the Louisiana tradition, there is an old west flavor watching as a kind father in the background.  This music may not break new auditory ground, but it will hopefully introduce America and the globe to a uniquely American heritage. 

“Riding in from the dusty plains of Texas with a fiddle under his arm, an accordion on his back, and a song in his heart, a Creole cowboy named Cedric Watson recently swaggered onto the Louisiana music scene. When this outsider burst into local saloons, first locals were taken back by his mastery of tradition and then by his ability to seamlessly integrate polyrhythms and grooves from beyond. Roping in the old with the new, L’Ésprit Créole (Valcour Records, 2009), Watson’s latest album with his band Bijou Créole, captures the rich Caribbean, African, and European heritage that underlies Creole culture while galloping through an unexplored frontier.”