RHYTHM ‘N’ BAYOUS ()

Documentary offers a zesty gumbo of Louisiana music. Running time: 107 minutes. Not rated (nothing objectionable). At the Screening Room, Canal and Varick streets.

——-

‘RHYTHM ‘N’ Bayous” is a joyful celebration of Louisiana music in all its permutations, a guided tour by experts illustrated with generous helpings of the real thing.

The film was originally commissioned as an official chronicle of a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame bus tour through New Orleans and southwestern Louisiana.

But veteran documentary director Robert Mugge was distracted and ended up wandering throughout the entire state – to concert halls, churches and zydeco clubs.

The expertly filmed, exuberant performances are complemented by commentary by experts who trace and explain the development of musical forms from their French and Afro-Caribbean roots to such variations as Creole jazz, Cajun music and the rock-influenced Swamp Pop, which is popular in Europe.

Among the many wonderful performers heard from: Frankie Ford, Henry Butler, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas, Kermit Rurffins, Dale Hawkins, the Hackberry Ramblers, and Henry Gray and the Hurricanes.