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We often poke a little fun friends of ours, but this week, we're dedicating all honor and respect to the late UJ Meaux, who passed away in early July 2006 while we were on tour in Chicago. Ironically, we had been granted the chance to spend the weekend with him in Long Beach, California, only a few days before he passed away. Who could have known that it would have been his last gig? His spirit was a strong as his health appeared to be, and none of us ever suspected that the last time we would see him would be the Houston airport. We were deeply saddened to miss his funeral, so we'd like to honor him and let everyone know why he is our pick of the week.
UJ Meaux was a quiet man, as far as I knew him, but a very gentle, kind man that one could sense by meeting him and simply shaking his hand. I knew him best as a musician - a legendary Cajun fiddler sidekick with Walter Mouton, where he could be found every Saturday night at La Poussière in Breaux Bridge. Before joining with Walter, UJ played fiddle with some early Cajun legends such as Lawrence Walker.
I knew him best and most as a musician. But surely he was so much more to everyone else who better knew him , and it is for this reason, that I'm saddened to say I will never know the real UJ Meaux. Always I told others that I would like to visit UJ; Walter Mouton's son told me only days before he died, "You should really hang out with UJ someday," but now, it is too late for that. Funny how death makes you really regret things like not saying goodbye when you could have.
Matt Doucet was fortunate to receive a grant from the Louisiana Division of Arts to apprentice under UJ. He may very well have the last recorded works of UJ, since they never recorded in the studio.
UJ, we will miss you. Your family and friends will mourn over your absence for a long, long time. I hope that where you are now is a good, peaceful place, and you don't feel the sorrow that we all feel here.
-Wilson Savoy
