Search - Bois Sec Ardoin with Balfa Toujours :: Allons Danser

Ardoin is from one of the two royal families of Creole-Cajun music (the other being the Balfas). He has recorded only sporadically over the years (this is his first studio gig in over 20 years!), and usually as a sideman rather than the star. He is a full-time farmer, a father to 13 kids, and yet manages to be a legendary musician as well, with a 50-year relationship with fiddler Canray Fontenot and the Duralde Ramblers (until Fontenot's death in 1995) and a longtime musical friendship with the Balfa family. It is this latter friendship that brought this album to fruition. Christine Balfa, daughter of Dewey, is a regular house party guest at the Ardoin's, and she and her band Balfa Toujour offered to be the band for this album. They are the perfect choice, with their deep traditional heritage but also a youthful sense of adventure, so this is no easy revival, but a great, lively album of new and old tunes that bring the talent of Ardoin to the forefront. His instantly recognized style is one of substance over flash, with even the simplest of lines jumping right out of the CD with free-spirited fun. The tunes include both Creole and Cajun favorites, a few more recent tunes, and a terrific "Duralde Ramble" as a bit of a tribute to Fontenot. --Louis Gibson