Culture club

Balfa Toujours take the Mardi Gras on the road

by David Ritchie

"Cajun" describes the culture that developed around the French-speaking Acadians who settled in places like Mamou, Eunice, and Lafayette along the bayous and prairies of southwest Louisiana (after being expelled from present-day Nova Scotia in 1755). But Cajun music (built around fiddle, accordion, and triangle) was the result of continuous integration between the Acadians and the ethnic groups that inhabited the area, particularly the French, Spanish, German, and Anglo-Americans. They also borrowed liberally from the black Creoles who had already settled in the area.

The music evolved and was passed on primarily within families and at house parties (in relative isolation) until, in 1964, Dewey Balfa made a startling discovery. Called in at the last minute to play at the Newport Folk Festival, Balfa (who later admitted he'd never seen more than two hundred people at once) was shocked by standing ovations from seventeen thousand people.

Christine Balfa describes the Newport trip as completely changing her father's life. "He had a mission when he got back . . . he wasn't going to let the Cajun people be ashamed of their culture or their music." Dewey Balfa spent the rest of his life purposefully representing Cajun culture to the rest of the world, doing his best to instill pride and respect for those traditions within the Cajun community. The music he and his brothers left is his legacy, and countless musicians from Louisiana worked under his tutelage, including Steve Riley and two of the Mamou Playboys, Peter Schwarz and David Greely. Christine Balfa now describes the Mamou Playboys as "one of, if not THE top Cajun band out there."

Never has the pedigree of a festival looked more impressive than this year's Cajun & Zydeco Mardi Gras Ball in Cranston, Rhode Island, which will be held next Saturday. There, you'll have an opportunity to experience not only the traditions of southwest Louisiana but also its future. The February 20 show features Balfa Toujours (led by Christine Balfa), Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, and Chris Ardoin & Double Clutchin' (featuring ancestors of early Creole performers).

Riley cites Dewey Balpha's music as his greatest influence. After about a year of practicing, the two met, and Balpha immediately showed an interest. "He really loved to see young people so into his music, so I latched on to him and never let go." By the age of 15, Riley was traveling around the country as Dewey's back-up accordion player and student.

"He always encouraged me to listen to all sorts of music, to be open minded, to explore, and to just view music as an adventure. . . . He always emphasized that music is self expression and I should always follow my heart.  . . . In other words, feel free to try whatever I wanted." These days, Riley's interests encompass zydeco as well as Cajun.

Zydeco developed out of the black Creole music popularized by Amédé Ardoin. Soon, the Mississippi Delta blues and R&B were absorbed, and the music pioneered by BooZoo Chavis and Clifton Chenier became known as zydeco (which, like Cajun, uses the accordion but adds electric bass, horns, and the rubboard). Today, it continues to evolve, and Chris Ardoin & Double Clutchin' incorporate soul and R&B into the dancehall mix, ready to push zydeco into the next century. To bring this discussion full circle, Chris (and his brother Sean, also in the band) are the grandsons of 83-year-old Bois-Sec Ardoin (brother of Amédé), who recorded a 1997 CD with Balfa Toujours. Christine Balfa recently helped organize a trip to England with Chris and Sean, their father, Lawrence, and Bois-Sec: three generations of Ardoins and three generations of Balfas. So there's a real connection between all of the groups performing at the festival.

Like her father, Christine Balfa works to keep the music alive and a part of the culture. On their newest CD, La Pointe, Balfa Toujours plays a good many traditional songs, as well as originals (songs that they're adding to the tradition). The most arresting piece is a beautiful and sad waltz called "Pa Janvier," which came from fiddler Dennis McGee, who learned it from a Creole woman.

"I think, for any music, or anything artistic to grow, it has to evolve," she says, also pointing out that the desire to keep music "traditional" is a relatively new imposition. "Musicians never really thought about it until recently, `Am I playing traditional or not,' they just played music from their heart that they liked. And that's what we try to do. . . it happens to come out sounding more traditional than a lot of other bands, maybe. But I don't think of it as a conscious thing. I just play music that moves me."

Undoubtedly, Dewey Balpha's work was a success. Cajun pride is alive and well. Balfa Toujours and Steve Riley are able to travel the world doing what they love. Christine sums it up, "Sometimes I'm so thrilled at what has happened because there are so many young people playing music around here, and it's just amazing how well known the music is now."

But there is a downside. "You can't go anywhere without havin' some kinda Cajun something on a menu in a restaurant which has nothing to do with Cajun." (Simply throwing pepper on something doesn't make it Cajun or Creole, she explains.) "And then there's this whole Cajun self-awareness -- which is good in a way -- but if you become too self-aware, then you're not living in the present. And that's what's happening to some people around here, which is kinda scary.

"Overall, I think it's a very good, positive thing. In the long run, it's what needed to happen to make people wake up and not lose what we have."

Balfa Toujours play at 7 p.m., February 18, at the Iron Horse. Call (413) 584-0610. They also appear at 8 p.m. on February 19 at the Common Fence, in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Call (401) 683-5085. Then on February 20, they open the Cajun & Zydeco Mardi Gras Ball along with Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys and Chris Ardoin & Double Clutchin'. Bring your appetite for Cajun & Creole cuisine. Doors open at 7 p.m. Call (401) 783-3926.