La Tradition Américaine

La Tradition Américaine is the second album by The Blue Dahlia, a pan-Atlantic project led by Brooklyn-born singer-songwriter and ukulele player Dahlia Dumont. A former anthropology student and teacher who worked in France and Senegal, Dumont brings a world citizen's passion for adventuring to her music, which combines elements of French, Mexican, Caribbean, Eastern European and American folk, soul and jazz into a polyglot manifestation par excellence. There are in fact two Blue Dahlia bands, one in Paris and one in New York, each featuring different musicians and there are three if you count the trio configuration with Dumont, George Saenz and Yoshiki Yamada. La Tradition Américaine features musicians from all of the band's iterations performing 14 original songs ranging from the Cajun and klezmer-tinged title-track and the dancehall reggae romp ‘Mai Tai (Quand tu Mets la Main sur ma Taille)’ to the punky ska of ‘Blah Blah’ and the calypso of ‘Plantation.’ Anchoring the journey is Dumont's sweetly charming voice, which easily glides between French and English, accompanied by impeccable arrangements featuring accordion, strings, guitars, horns and a solid rhythm section. The Blue Dahlia's emotional palette is a deeply diverse reservoir of palpable insouciance underscored by insight and compassion derived from a life fervently lived.