La Pointe (CD - 1998)

Balfa Toujours: Christine Balfa (vocals, guitar, banjo ukelele, washboard, triangle); Dirk Powell (vocals, guitar, banjo, fiddle, accordion); Kevin Wimmer (vocals, fiddle).

Additional personnel: Peter Schwarz (fiddle, bass); Mitchell Reed (bass); Nelda Balfa (triangle).

Recorded at the home of Christine Balfa and Dirk Powell, La Pointe, Louisiana in December 1997. Includes liner notes by Balfa Toujours.

Christine Balfa, daughter of Cajun pioneer Dewey Balfa, comes up with her third album in the company of Dirk Powell's beautiful accordion playing and Kevin Wimmer's spot on fiddle work. With the bass duties being swapped out between Mitchell Reed and Peter Schwarz (who also doubles up on fiddle on certain tracks) and family member Nelda Balfa on triangle, this is as down-home real as you can get. Recorded in Christine and Dirk's home in La Pointe, Louisiana, the music is comprised of new originals and old time material gathered from several sources. Balfa Brothers material is trotted out ("Nonc Charlot," "La Valse De Bayou La Fourche"), along with songs that tip the regional hat to local legends like Octa Clark ("Black Top Blues," "Freight Train Blues"), Dennis McGee ("Le Reel De Courville," "Pa Janvier") and the Fontenot family ("The Freeman Fontenot Medley," "Bernadette"). Balfa's rhythm guitar work is spotless and driving, Powell's multi-instrumental work on fiddle, guitar, accordion and banjo is diverse yet focused and both contribute authentic Cajun vocals in the native tongue that are full of wistful heartbreak and good times. Wimmer's fiddle workout on "Bernadette" once again reminds us that fiddle can be one bluesy instrument in the right hands. An amazingly simple, unaffected and beautiful album. ~ Cub Koda

Even in the field of Cajun music, a genre known for its deep roots, both Balfa Toujours and LA POINTE glow with a rich sense of history. Vocalist/guitarist Christine Balfa is the daughter of Dewey Balfa, who made Cajun music history as part of the seminal Balfa Brothers Band. Along with accordionist Dirk Powell and fiddler Kevin Wimmer, Christine keeps the spirit of her family's music alive.

Though the young Balfa doesn't sing with the idiosyncratic wailing style that marks most hardcore Cajun music, the instrumental interplay between Christine and her bandmates harks directly back to the traditional Cajun sound. The Point was the spot in Louisiana where the Acadians first settled in the 1760s. More than two centuries later, Christine made it her home, and that's where LA POINTE was recorded. The setting invests both the musicians and the album with an extra dose of the old Cajun spirit as Balfa Toujours move through lively two-step dance tunes, mournful-sounding waltzes, and more. minimize