Bringing The Happy: Sean Ardoin Teams Up With The Stax Music Academy

October 30, 2023 by Steve Hochman for Offbeat Magazine

“People ask, ‘What do you do?’” Sean Ardoin says in a chat from his Lake Charles home.

His answer? “I get to provide the atmosphere for people to choose to be happy.” He pauses

a fraction of a second for emphasis. “I bring the happy.”

He brings it with his accordion and a zydeco beat and with Kreole Rock & Soul, which is

both the name of his band and his term for his ever-expanding musical galaxy. And most

significantly, he brings it with his spirit: irrepressible, unstoppable and faith-fueled.

It’s what he’s been bringing and sharing with great enthusiasm for 24 (or 25, he’s lost

count) albums now. But it’s a little different on the latest, Mosaic. Now, his last album,

2022s Full Circle, was a bit different too, as the LSU alum corralled the school’s Golden

Band From Tigerland marching corps to help him and his band blast out new versions of

songs from his catalog (and a brand-new “Chant Song”), and it’s as boisterous as bon temps

get.

For this one, he reached out to a younger

generation of musicians as well, in this case

students from Memphis’ Stax Music Academy—an

educational spin-off branch of the famed soul

studio and label via the Soulsville Foundation.

“I just did LSU,” he says. “So why not go from

college to high school?”

This time, though, not only did the youngsters—

specifically the Stax Music Academy Choir—

perform on the album, four of the songs were cowritten

by Stax students. That was the unexpected

result of Ardoin’s approach to the album. Where he had written or co-written pretty much

everything he’d recorded before, this time he wanted to draw on and celebrate the

network, the community, of writers and artists he’s built over the years. So, he sent out

word that he was looking for contributions.

“I did a songwriting call around the nation,” he says.

He contacted a wide array of artists, rappers Von

Vargas, Mac Phipps and Bernard “Bun B”

Freeman, New Orleans R&B pianist Kyle Roussel

and Memphis’ Garry Goin among them. Dozens

of songs came back—39 to be exact. Ardoin chose

12 to use, tweaking some of them a bit to connect

with his own roots and style. It’s anchored in the

performances of his band, which includes his son

Sean David on scrubboard and drum

programming and his cousin Trey Ardoin on

guitar, with noted session drummer Aaron

Spears and keyboardist and co-producer Rodney

Alejandro (who also co-wrote many of the songs)

adding to the solid foundation. Nashville-based

jazz/R&B singer (and 2020 runner-up on “The

Voice”) Wendy Moten handles background vocals and some leads as a featured artist. And

Austin’s Grooveline Horns give their brass blasts to several songs as well.

Additionally, Eric Gales’s guitar spikes opener “Bad Habits” and young blues sensation

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram adds electric guitar solos to two songs. “Ooo Wee” draws on

the funky Washington D.C. go-go style, with percussionist GoGo Mickey driving the beat.

And on two songs Memphis icon Rev. Charles Hodges brings in his unmistakable touch on

the Hammond B-3 that graced so many classic Al Green hits. And, of course, many of the

songs also feature the recruited writers leading the way.

That’s a lot going on, and a lot of different musical directions are represented. But Ardoin

made sure the zydeco essence was never lost, the strength of his personality and roots

always shining.

“The beat is there, the scrubboard is there, the accordion is there, the vibe,” he says. “You

can dance, but you don’t have to.”

But then there’s the real key ingredient of the kids. As it turned out, one of the first songs

that came back was from a Memphis writer connected to the Stax Academy.

“I’d just visited there and said, ‘If the kids want to submit songs, let me know,’” he says.

They didn’t hesitate, and four songs submitted by the students made the cut: “I Got It,” “We

On a Roll,” “Anything For You” and “Mind Mind Mind.” In many ways, they form the

album’s core, organically mixing in R&B, hip-hop and pop while expressing the joys and

trials of youth with remarkable acumen and maturity. This is not teen fluff by any means.

As the album took shape, Ardoin decided to

expand the Academy role, commissioning the

school’s choir to sing on all of the songs. In

recognition, he gave them “featuring” billing on

the album’s front cover.

“Working with the choir was phenomenal,” he

says. “Isaac Daniel [the Stax Academy executive

director] and his team did a great job getting

these kids ready. It was the middle of school

break. The kids really sacrificed to put time in to

make it happen. Me and Isaac sat down with all

the tunes and we said, ‘Okay, I want the choir to

do this on this one.’ I didn’t want it to be sing-song. I didn’t want it to be like, ‘Oh! We have

a choir!’”

The real trick was that a lot of other parts, including background singers on most tracks,

were already in place.

“I said, ‘We gotta think of creative ways to include the choir on all these songs without it

being intrusive or obtrusive,’” he says, laughing. “So, I said, ‘On this song they need to do

this, and on that song just oohs and aahs,’ and this, that and the other.”

It’s not like the many other contributors who he’d recruited had figured on this in their

performances.

“Of course,” he says, “everybody took liberty and sent me more than I asked for. And

everything they sent extra was exactly what we needed! So, the trick was how do I make a

horn section and the rhythm section and background singers not step all on each other.”

He pauses as he considers the final challenge.

“And how do I differentiate background singers from choir?” he says, answering himself.

“I figured it out. Sometimes the choir is reinforcing the background singers. And

sometimes they’re doing stuff separately.”

Having the name “Stax” on the album cover might signal a musical approach to some, but

Ardoin makes it clear this is not a tribute to the Memphis sound of the past but draws on

the energy of today from the class of tomorrow.

“The fact that the Stax Music Academy exists is a beautiful thing,” he says. “It’s giving kids

opportunities to be part of the music business, to learn the craft in a very real type of way.

it’s not performative at all. You know what I’m saying? It’s very genuine, very legitimate.”

Having them on the album “meant everything” to him, he says.

“High school is my sweet spot,” he says. “Because they have the rest of their lives ahead of

them. And to be able to influence and affect their lives in a positive way—it’s something

that I take the time out for. To not have to take time out and just bring them on a journey

[of the album] is a beautiful thing. Right? And it wasn’t a charity job. They have more than

pulled their weight. They justify their dinner.”

Of course, so did the LSU band members on the last album. All 146 of them. With the new

one there’s “only” 50 people.

“Not including my band,” he adds, quickly, meaning on both albums, which brings the

grand total of people on the two to roughly 200.

“Within one year!” he stresses. That’s a lot of bringing the happy.