Accordion:

Preston Frank, a powerful accordionist and singer from Soileau, LA, is descended from several generations of well-known musicians. He plays both old classics and original compositions with the impeccable timing and phrasing that are the hallmarks of the Creole style. Keeping the family tradition, Preston has passed the music on to his children, including popular bandleader Keith Frank.

Steve Riley grew up in the Cajun prairie town of Mamou, LA. From an early age, he played accordion in the style of his cousin, famed accordion builder Marc Savoy. At 15 he was invited to join Dewey Balfa's band, where he learned to sing and play hundreds of French songs on both accordion and fiddle. He formed the Mamou Playboys with David Greely in 1988, whose output includes a Grammy-nominated album.

Jesse Legé is one of the most admired Cajun accordionists and vocalists currently playing in Southwest Louisiana. His band, The Lake Charles Ramblers, are much sought after for dances, particularly in the west of the state and across the Sabine into Texas. Jesse's accordion style owes a lot to the best players of the past; he embellishes the melodies extensively, but never to the point of putting flash over substance. Likewise, his vocals have a high, lonesome sound that can easily cut across a dancehall without the aid of a microphone.

Boozoo Chavis was born near Church Point, LA in 1930. He, as well as the late Clifton Chenier, helped form Zydeco music from Creole and Blues roots in the 1940's and 1950's. His 1955 hit record, "Paper In My Shoe," is considered by many to be the first Zydeco recording. Due to frustrations with recording companies, Boozoo went into retirement for over twenty years until his powerful comeback in the 1980s. His records from this era attracted a younger generation to the music, including Keith Frank and Beau Jocque.

Thomas Matte began playing accordion in the 1920s at the age of 18. His style reflects the years he spent playing for the old house dances that were once common in the area. Most of his working life was spent farming and doing carpentry near Church Point. Now 94, Mr. Thomas lives in Lawtell, where he is known for his keen sense of humor and his storytelling skills.

Goldman Thibodeau was born in the early 1930s to a Creole sharecropping family near Lawtell. Though he has focused much of his time on farming and working construction, Louisiana French music has always been a central part of his life. Mr. Thibodeau has long been in demand as a vocalist, but it was not until after suffering a heart attack in his 50s that he purchased his first accordion. He began playing in the old Creole style he had always heard around home, and it was not long before he joined the Lawtell Playboys.

Harry Trahan was born and raised in Judice, LA. He bought his first accordion at 12 from the late, great Octa Clark, and before long he was attending dances featuring accordionists Lawrence Walker and Aldus Roger. Those two musicians had a large influence on his developing style, as did the recordings of Nathan Abshire. After moving to Port Acres, TX, in 1956, Harry played the dancehall scene with Huey Meaux, Andrew Cormier, and others. In 1962 he moved back home to raise a family, and since then his distinctly bluesy and soulful style has been heard primarily at family gatherings.

Geno Delafose has been carrying on the family tradition since the age of 7. Son of the legendary John Delafose, he began his musical endeavors playing rubboard in his father's band, then moved to drums, and eventually switched to the diatonic and keyboard accordions. Geno has since created a distinctive sound of his own, incorporating the older styles of musicians like Amedée Ardoin and Iry LeJeune while adding influences from R & B, Country and other musical styles. His band, French Rockin' Boogie, records and tours extensively, and his film credits include an appearance in the John Sayles film, Passion Fish.


Fiddle:

Kevin Wimmer has been playing the violin since the age of 3. He received a strong classical foundation, but found himself drawn instead to more improvisatory and less formal rural styles of American music. He became interested in Cajun fiddle upon hearing Dewey Balfa in 1984 and spent several years learning firsthand from the master. Since 1992, Kevin has been lead fiddler with Balfa Toujours. He has also recorded with some of the most respected groups in the Bluegrass and Swing genres.

Mitch Reed is one of the most expressive young Cajun fiddlers playing today. He draws heavily on the style of his heroes, particularly Dennis McGee, while simultaneously finding an original, bluesy sound. His group, Charivari, has been touring extensively and developing an international reputation. Mitch has taught fiddle at many traditional music workshops around the country, where his sense of humor and unique style make him a charismatic teacher.

Carlton Frank, from near Soileau, is one of a few older Creole fiddlers still playing today. While the accordion has come to dominate Creole music during his lifetime, Carlton's soulful, bluesy playing makes a strong case for the fiddle's rightful place in sharing the spotlight with the squeezebox. Carlton comes from a long line of musicians, and he still plays regularly with his nephew Preston Frank.

Rodney Fontenot's playing can be seen as a window to an earlier time, before the introduction of the accordion to Louisiana, when fiddle was king. As a young boy, Rodney learned to play from Dennis McGee in the area near Eunice. Both his bowing and fingering style evoke an era that many thought was gone for good. Rodney will present his vintage Cajun music and stories of growing up in Chataignier.

Calvin Carrière is one of the best Creole fiddlers in Louisiana. He comes from a long line of musicians, all of whom were known for their powerful, bluesy playing. In addition to playing for years with the Lawtell Playboys, Mr. Calvin's music has carried him to Washington DC, West Virginia, Washington State and many other locales. His unique sense of expression and his personal family repertoire of tunes make him one of Louisiana's most valuable traditional musicians.

Born and raised in St. Landry Parish, Hadley Castille learned to play the fiddle as a young teen. Over the years, his music has developed into a unique blend of old and new, including many original songs. He has performed all over the world, appeared in movies and on TV, and received numerous awards. Hadley's powerful band also has the distinction of being the first to appear with a symphony orchestra.

Michael Doucet was born near Lafayette in 1951 and grew up listening to everything 1960s radio had to offer. After learning guitar and banjo as a boy, he was inspired in 1974 to explore the music of his heritage after meeting young musicians playing in the Cajun style in France. On his return, he began studying fiddle with several Louisiana masters, particularly Dennis McGee. He soon formed the innovative band, Coteau, and later the world-renowned Beausoleil, one of the few Cajun bands to win a Grammy.


Guitar:

A singer/songwriter with roots in rock and folk, Sam Broussard is a musician's musician. He left Louisiana in his early 20s and developed a unique guitar style working with such diverse artists as Michael Murphy, Jimmy Buffet, and Swiss rocker Stephan Eicher. Finally back in Southwest Louisiana, his inventive playing has evolved into an original approach to Cajun music. Sam has performed with Cheryl Cormier, T-Mamou (which he co-founded), and is now a member of Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys.

Since he picked up a guitar at the age of 12, Lafayette native Paul "Lil' Buck" Senegal has "played with 'em all," including Rockin' Dopsie, "Buckwheat" Zydeco, and the great Clifton Chenier. He played for ten years with Clifton, giving the band a feel that has never been duplicated. His many credits include Paul Simon's 1987 "Graceland" album, one of the most influential recordings of that decade. In 1991, he formed the Cowboy Stew Blues Revue, a band which puts him back out front where he belongs.

D. L. Menard was born in 1932 in Erath. He is the author of dozens of classic Cajun songs, including his famous hit, "The Back Door," which had sold over half a million copies. His compelling voice earned him the title "The Cajun Hank Williams" and his strong bass-picking guitar style is admired around the world. Mr. D. L. is equally well known as a craftsman, particularly for his handmade furniture. He uses traditional techniques to craft a variety of rockers, ladder-backed chairs, and stools.

Sonny Landreth is one of the most celebrated electric guitarists in the world. Long respected as a sideman (with John Mayall and Michael Doucet, among others), Sonny emerged as an international solo artist in 1992. His acclaim is based not only on his impeccable taste but on his unique technique, a merging of Chet Atkins-style finger-picking with Sonny's own approach to the slide guitar. He currently tours and records with his trio as well as occasionally taking them to appear as John Hiatt's back-up band, The Goners.

David Doucet is one of the most influential acoustic Cajun guitarists performing today. While playing with his brother Michael in the well-known group Beausoleil, David developed a rich, expressive solo style which leaves behind the stereotype that the guitar is only a provider of rhythm in Cajun music. In addition to his legendary work with Beausoleil, David has released solo recordings to critical acclaim.


Vocals:

Baton Rouge native David Greely grew up singing Gospel and Country music. Teaching himself fiddle at 17, he played Country and Bluegrass until 1985, when he turned to the music of his Cajun grandparents. David first learned the Cajun style from recordings and later studied with Dewey Balfa. In 1988, he and Steve Riley formed the Mamou Playboys. In addition to his fiddling, David's mellow baritone voice, his attention to details in the language, and his skills on the saxophone have contributed to their becoming one of the most highly acclaimed Cajun bands in the world.

As a child with parents in the military, Marce Lacouture traveled the world before eventually settling in Texas. During Austin's creative 1970s, Marce shared stages with such artists as Butch Hancock and Lucinda Williams. She soon began to explore the "home music" of her Cajun heritage, songs bypassed by the dancehall culture. Through intensive work with singers Lula Landry and Inez Catalon, Marce has become one of the primary performers of the old Francophone ballads once common in Louisiana.

D. L. Menard (see Guitar section)


Percussion:

Brad Frank is the next generation of Soileau's famous Frank family. He grew up playing rubboard and drums with his father Preston and kept at it with brother Keith, with whom he created one of the most successful young Zydeco bands of the 1990s. Brad's deep groove has influenced percussionists far and wide. He is also an accomplished accordion player, as he proved on his first solo CD release earlier this year.

Christine Balfa was born in 1968, when her father, Dewey, was immersed in the effort to restore the pride of Cajun people. She was surrounded not only by music and dance but also by one of the most important cultural revivals in American history. She began performing with Dewey at age 11 and toured with him around the world. In 1992, Christine formed her own band, Balfa Toujours, now one of the most widely acclaimed Cajun bands in the world. She has taught classes in guitar, vocals, dance, cooking, and all-inclusive "Cajun Culture" at workshops worldwide.


Culture/Language:

Kirby Jambon has worked in French education since his graduation from Nichols State. He spent a year in French immersion in Nova Scotia and has taught at various music and culture workshops throughout the U.S. He also writes a bilingual column in Acadiana's online French paper, Asteur, and has published a book of French poetry. His partner, Jolene Adam, also attended Nichols State, as well as Université de Mons, in Belgium, and UC-Berkeley, receiving a BA in Linguistics. While in California, Jolene wrote a history of Louisiana music in that state. She is presently the curator/director of the Acadian Memorial Center in St. Martinville.

Martha Pierre, a registered folk artist with the State of Louisiana, will be presenting a discussion of the Creole Language. Her specialties include open-hearth cooking and traditional rosary making, both of which she presents in a bilingual format. Ms. Pierre has appeared at the State Folklife Festival in Monroe, Festivals Acadiens in Lafayette, and at Marimont Plantation. She also taught in St. Martin and Iberia Parish schools for seventeen years.

Carl A. Brasseaux, a native of St. Landry parish, is currently director of the Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. (CCET is one of the university's six centers of excellence.) He holds a doctorate in North American Studies from the University of Paris and has published more than 30 book-length works on French North America. Dr. Brasseaux, in his Lagniappe session, will examine the transformation of Acadian society following its transplantation in Louisiana.

Ville Platte native Amanda Lafleur has taught both standard and Cajun French since 1979 and is a longtime activist for the preservation of Louisiana French. She has hosted numerous television and radio programs, conducted field research for the Dictionary of Louisiana Creole, and is the former coordinator of French immersion programs for Lafayette Parish Schools. Currently, Amanda teaches Cajun French and coordinates Cajun Studies at LSU.

Rebecca Henry was raised in a sharecropping family in which Creole folk medicine traditions were passed down through the women. Both her mother and grandmother were knowledgeable practitioners of home remedies, using a combination of native plant material and household items, and her great-aunt was a midwife and traiteur (traditional spiritual healer). Today, Ms. Rebecca is passing on the traditional knowledge to her own granddaughter as well as to the public.

Brenda Mounier grew up in Ville Platte and graduated from UL at Lafayette. As part of her effort to bring the French language to the children of Louisiana, she recently produced a film. Bonjour L'Histoire. This bilingual documentary uses Acadiana children to demonstrate and teach French to other children, and is being used by educators throughout the state.

A professor of French and Francophone Studies at University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Barry Ancelet is also a folklorist with strong interests in Cajun/Creole music and storytelling. In 1974 he founded what was to become the annual "Festivals Acadiens," and for over a decade he has hosted the weekly "Rendez-vous des Cajuns," a live music radio show broadcast from the Liberty Theatre in Eunice. Barry is also the author of many books on the region's music and folktales, as well as a writer of songs and poetry. He is considered by many to be the leading expert on the culture of Southwest Louisiana.

Bozo and Ollie Verret are steeped in the folkways of St. Martin Parish. They live alongside the Atchafalaya Basin in Catahoula, where they are involved in many different aspects of traditional culture. For their session this week, Mrs. Verret is going to demonstrate the cooking of sweet dough pies, a local treat which she learned to make from her family as a youngster. Mr. Verret is going to discuss life along the Atchafalaya, which has a unique history all its own.


Native Crafts:

Lafayette natives Don and Gail Begnaud specialize in the crafts of weaving, spinning, and chair caning, which they have demonstrated at festivals, such as Jazz Fest and Festivals Acadiens, and at Vermilionville, Lafayette's living history museum. Don recently traveled to France to learn the craft of making sabots, the wooden shoes worn by the Acadian colonists.

Larry Miller was raised near Iota, LA, where he often joined in the traditional music being made in his home with a triangle or spoons. He worked in education for 22 years, teaching Science and Math, eventually becoming a school principal. During this time he developed an interest in building instruments as a hobby, beginning with accordions and later adding triangles, spoons, and frattoirs. He has since become one of the most successful accordion builders in Louisiana. Larry has also been very involved with the Cajun French Music Association and has organized jam sessions to assist new musicians.

Clarence "Junior" Martin is one of Louisiana's premier builders of the diatonic Cajun accordions. His attention to detail and the powerful sound of his instruments have earned him an international reputation amongst fellow builders and musicians alike. The friendliness and openness with which he greets customers have added to his following. Mr. Martin is also a talented musician whose expressive stylings on the pedal steel guitar are considered "Classic Cajun."

Tony Latiolais descends from a long line of St. Martin Parish boatbuilders and craftsman. He has exhibited his work at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington and at Vermilionville in Lafayette. Tony will be bringing handcrafted pirogues with him to demonstrate the construction and use of this specialized Louisiana boat. He is also an excellent guitarist and we are likely to see him in the jam sessions as well.


Natural Habitat:

Bill Fontenot, an eloquent spokesman for the native plant movement in Southwest Louisiana, began acquiring his knowledge of local flora and fauna at the age of 6 from his father's hunting buddies around Point Blue. He went on to combine this traditionally acquired knowledge with a formal education in Biology. The resulting perspective has enabled him to move people from all walks of life to further respect and honor their natural surroundings. At present, Bill is Naturalist at the Acadiana Park Nature Center and the owner of a native plant nursery.


Cooking:

Pat Mould has expanded on the culinary roots he absorbed as a child in Crowley, LA to become a highly regarded and innovative chef. Since his stint as executive chef at Lafayette's Café Vermillionville in the early 1980s, Pat has won awards from and served as officer of several regional culinary organizations. He has worked extensively for the promotion of Cajun cuisine, through television and other media, and recently published his own cookbook. Pat will be planning our dining experiences during the Dewey Balfa Cajun and Creole Heritage Week, as well as teaching a culinary class.

Joanne Delafose was born in Basile (at a healthy twelve pounds!) and raised on a cotton, corn and potato patch near Elton. She is an expert on cooking traditional dishes such as Sauce Piquante, which she often prepares for her musical family, including son Geno. She can be seen demonstrating her famous cooking style on the Rounder CD-ROM, "Allons en Louisiane."

Jackie Miller is of Cajun and German descent and was the youngest of eight children. As a youngster, she was always in the kitchen when her mother cooked, watching and learning. When she married into a Cajun family, Jackie became more interested in the traditions of Cajun cooking, and she has since watched, questioned and collected many recipes from experienced family members and friends.

Maude Ancelet first learned to cook from her mother and from a friend who lived on the other side of a shared duplex. Over the years she has cooked with and for friends and family. Her husband Elmo often provided her with the produce of his wonderful garden and orchard, and the many hunters and fishermen in the family contributed a wealth of game and seafood. Miss Maude demonstrated Cajun cooking at the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife in 1983, and has demonstrated her gumbo making for Elderhostel classes.

Valentine Carrière was born around Mallet, Louisiana in 1932. She learned to cook from her mother and, a little later on, her mother-in-law. Besides cooking traditional cuisine for her family, she has often cooked at the Holy Family Church and at Lawtell Elementary. Though she loves to cook and does so every day, she is also known to play the spoons when she's not stirring the pot.

Bozo and Ollie Verret (see Culture/Language section)


Dance:

Mona Wilson was born in St. Martinville and raised in Cade, LA. After graduating from college in Baton Rouge with a degree in accounting, she began teaching Zydeco dancing in Southeast Texas in 1985. Since that time, she has won numerous contests, taught at festivals and workshops all over the country, appeared in a multitude of articles, and generally promoted the traditions of Creole culture and Zydeco.

Breaux Bridge native Don Brasseaux has been dancing to the music of Southwest Louisiana since the early 1950's. His dance style, while essentially Cajun, is also rooted in the many other types of music that flourish in this area, such as Swamp Pop, Country, and Zydeco. Don's reputation as a dancer and instructor has carried him to camps and festivals across the country and the world.

Formed in 1990, Renaissance Cadienne is a 20-member folkloric-theatre troupe specializing in the older music and dance of Louisiana. Their work paints a vivid picture of the way the Louisiana Cajuns lived two hundred years ago and encompasses the various ethnicities which have contributed to Louisiana culture. They were awarded the Prize for Authenticity in June of l997, given by the Sacres du Folklore in Reims, France, and received the Cultural Heritage Preservation Award from Vermilionville in August, 1998.

Christine Balfa (see Percussion)


Additional Staff:

Bois Sec Ardoin was born in L'Anse de Prien Noir in 1916, the cousin of famed accordionist Amedée Ardoin, with whom he got his start playing triangle. He picked up the accordion soon afterwards and began his 50-year partnership with fiddler Canray Fontenot, which took them around the world. He is a National Heritage Fellow and a winner of numerous state awards. Mr. Bois Sec's soulful playing comes from a time when both Creole and Cajun traditions were thought of equally as "French Music."

Dirk Powell's roots are in Kentucky, where he learned fiddle and banjo from his grandfather. He began playing professionally as a teen and established a national reputation as a fine and versatile musician. His musical connection to Dewey Balfa and eventual marriage to Dewey's daughter Christine led him to Louisiana where, in 1992, he was one of the cofounders of Balfa Toujours. Dirk is also in constant demand for other projects as a performer, composer, record producer, teacher, and writer.

Courtney Granger, great-nephew of the well-known Balfa Brothers, is one of the most talented of the younger generation of Cajun musicians in Louisiana. He was born in 1982 and began playing the fiddle in the early 1990s. His soulful style on the instrument and his evocative singing style earned him the chance to make his first solo recording for Rounder Records at the age of 16. He has since joined forces with family members Balfa Toujours, with whom he has toured Australia, Europe, and Hong Kong.

Jay Ungar and Molly Mason have become two of America's best-known folk musicians through their work on numerous PBS documentary soundtracks and as frequent guests on Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion." Jay's composition "Ashokan Farewell" has become an international classic, though a piece they wrote together, "The Lover's Waltz," is perhaps more frequently requested in Louisiana. The two of them run The Fiddle & Dance Workshop at Ashokan, where each summer people come to learn traditional music and dance. Their experience both as musicians and organizers of intensive workshops will make them invaluable additions to the staff.