Jamie Berzas was born on February 1st, 1958 to parents Nathan Berzas and Alida Bergeron Berzas in the town of Mamou, Louisiana along with eight siblings. Nathan made a living as a television repairman, school bus driver, and later as a police juror for Evangeline Parish. When Jamie was six years old, the family moved to a farm south of town in the community of L'Anse Maigre (Meg) which was owned by his ancestors. He learned early on about farm life as he and his siblings shared responsibilities of daily chores, which included gardening, feeding chickens, milking cows ( up to four gallons a day with that many kids) and other various activities which went from sunrise to sunset, except when attending school. But it wasn't all work for the Berzas family. Like many Cajun boys Jamie developed an early passion for hunting, sometimes accompanying his Dad when he was off on weekends, but mainly with his grandfather, who owned beagles to hunt rabbits, a very popular activity in the region. Another activity the family enjoyed was cookouts and it was during these occasions that music was typically involved. Nathan had an old Hohner accordion and he played Cajun French tunes mainly at home. He taught Jamie how to play his 1st song at ten years old. Eventually as Jaimie got proficient he would play at these family cookouts and gatherings. His first two accordions were given to him by his grandfather, Dutch Berzas, an old Sidney Brown model and later an old Marc Savoy Acadian brand that had been repaired by local builder and musician Harrison Fontenot. It was around this age that Jamie got his 1st taste of playing in public when his dad would bring him to perform at Fred's Lounge for the Revon Reed's live radio program amateur hour on Saturday mornings. It was there that Jamie recalls being exposed to some great Cajun musicians such as Roy Fusilier, Dennis McGee, Sadey Courville, Preston Aucoin, Balfa Bros., to name a few. But according to Jamie perhaps his greatest influence was accordion player from Basile named Nathan Abshire, whose playing style Jamie greatly admired. As he grew into his early teens Jaimie learned to play guitar and drums and was encouraged by some of his friends to play guitar in a Rock and Roll band but he eventually was drawn back to his Cajun music roots and by his late teens he was back on the accordion. In 1979, Jaimie and a few of his bandmates which included guitarist Mark Young went to Lake Hope Recreational Park near Mamou to watch Austin Pitre and The Evangeline Playboys perform. While watching, someone had informed Austin that Jaimie and his bandmates were in attendance and invited them to join them on stage. Afterwards Austin invited them to play for several more weekends. After a few gigs had past, Austin told Jamie he was planning on retiring from playing and offered him and Mark to take over his weekend gigs at both Lake Hope and Basile Mainstreet Lounge. Jamie tried to explain to Austin that while he was appreciative he felt they weren't ready to take over with only knowing a few songs and lack of equipment but Austin graciously offered not only his and equipment but the services of some of his band members. Initially, they would call themselves Cajun Aces and would perform every weekend alternating between Basile Mainstreet lounge and Lake Hope. Members of the line-up included Jamie on , accordion, Mark Young on guitar, Austin Pitre's son James on drums, and Allen Ardoin on fiddle. They played a mix of Cajun and country music and sometimes would repeat some of the same songs until they could add more to their repertoire. By 1980, Jamie got married to the former Madeline Martel and moved back in the town of Mamou where he got a job as a mechanic at McGee's garage for a little over seven years before him and Madeline would run their own shop for around ten years afterwards. Eventually, Jamie attended a two year course in the Bio Medical field which he received a certification as a Biomedical Equipment Technician, where he still works in that field today. He and Madeline eventually moved back near the family farm in L'Anse Maigre. It was around 1981, that Jamie had gotten word that there was a well established band that had already had the name Cajun Aces, which was headed by Blackie Forestier, so they changed the name to Cajun Tradition. By then the bands line-up also had undergone a few changes with Roy Fontenot of the Mamou Playboys on fiddle, Toney Soileau on drums and Madeline occasionally joining in on the triangle. In 1983, Madeline became the groups full time drummer and guitarist Don Vidrine also joined the band. In 1984, fiddler Lee Manuel would join the group. That same year, Jaimie and the Cajun Tradition were invited to perform at the World's Fair being held in New Orleans, Louisiana. The band was continually active in playing at various dancehalls, night clubs in the Evangeline and St. Landry Parish area including the Liberty Theater in Eunice. It is there where Jaimie met fellow musician Jerry Devillier, who operated the live show's video and sound recordings and asked him to join them on stage when they would play there. In 1986, Cajun Tradition recorded a 45 rpm record under the Bee record label for Elton "Bee" Cormier at his studio. Side A contains the song "Le Two Step De L'Anse Meg' ( L'Anse Meg Two Step) side B contains "Souhait DU Veuve" (Widower's Wish). By 1987, they were playing strictly Cajun music and it paid hug dividends. They were invited to play at the Cajun Music Festival at Loretta Lynn's Dude Ranch in Hurricane Mills, TN. In addition, they went on a three week tour on the cruise ship M/S Olympia that traveled the Baltic Sea from Sweden to Finland, Their 1st award was winning the title "Musicien du Bal" for best dance band in contest held at Acadian Village in Lafayette, LA. They received letters of commendation from the World's Fair, Sweco Cruise Line, Crestex, and Loretta Lynn's Ranch. In 1988, they went into Floyd Soileau's recording studio in Ville Platte to record an album called " a la vieille facon" which featured Jaimie on accordion and vocals, Mark Young on rhythm guitar and vocals, Lee Manuel on fiddle and vocals, Madeline on drums, Glenn "Chic" Richard on bass guitar and George McGee on triangle and spoons. It was released under the Swallow record label and the album earned the group a nomination for Best Tradional Folk Recording the following year in 1989 at the Grammy Awards. They played regularly at Randol's Cajun Restaurant in Lafayette, Belazaire's Cajun Restaurant in Crowley, and in 1989, Mulate's in Breaux Bridge, Baton Rouge and New Orleans. They subsequently invited to perform at a Crawfish festival in Jacksonville, Florida and a Cajun dance in Atlanta, Georgia. The band continued to play throughout the 1990's, even though the fiddler and vocalist Lee Manuel passed away in 1991 and was replaced by a young Beau Thomas. By the end of the decade, Jamie decided to escape the rigors of life as a full-time musician and began to concentrate on playing mostly at local establishments such as Fred's Lounge, at the Mamou Cajun Music Festival , and at the street dance on Mardi Gras Day all in Mamou. He still continues that tradition today. In 2000, Jamie was an honoree at the Mamou Cajun Festival and in 2005, he was inducted as a member of Fred's Wall of Fame sponsored by KVPI radio out of Ville Platte. He was also given the keys to the city of Mamou twice in his career. In 2019, Jamie was received a commendation by the Louisiana House of Representatives for his induction into the Louisiana Folklife Center Hall of Master Folk Artist. Jamie has quite an impressive resume' over a long career, but he seems to take those things in stride. When asking him if he realized the importance of his role in the preservation of Cajun music from his region, his humble nature almost didn't allow him to speak of it. He insisted on deflecting praise to others that he said helped him along the way. One person who had pointed out a significant event in which Jamie was hugely responsible for was Jerry Devillier, who was present during his interview with me. Jerry pointed out that it was Jamie who agreed to volunteer his time to attend a harmonica festival in Birmingham, Alabama approximately seventeen years ago at his request that led to a significant life changing event musically for him. While Jamie backed up Jerry's harmonica playing it caught the attention of world renown Chicago blues harpist Joe Filisko, who met with Jerry afterwards, which led to an invitation for him to join the largest international harmonica organization SPAH ( Society for the Preservation of the Harmonica. Jerry would go on to become an important figure in the organization and became known many harmonica players and enthusiast world wide. Still today, Jamie and the Cajun tradition are active playing, when Jamie isn't working, spending time with family, hunting or fishing. Some of the bands line-up has changed over time with additional members such as Dennis Boudreaux, Joe Simon, Walt Farr, Henry Hample, Randy Vidrine, but the band's core and rich traditional Cajun sound has stayed intact. Special thank you to those who helped contribute to this story including The Eunice News archives, The Evangeline News Today, Cajun, Creole, and Zydeco Musicians website, Flattown Music and Floyd Soileau, Jerry Devillier, and especially Jamie Berzas himself. **Dedicated to the Berzas family** Composed by Neal P Granger
