What most people don’t realize about Cajun music is that it was a family tradition long before it was played professionally. Such is the case here with John and Jane Vidrine (of Magnolia Sisters fame), whose charming collection of traditional Cajun fare and three originals resemble a sonic family photo album. The tradition that the Vidrines started as a couple has been carried forth by offspring Emilie and Joseph (now young adults) who sing and play bass respectively on the CD. But as with any family album, good friends are usually spotted among its pages, and that applies here with fiddlers David Greely and Ed Poullard and drummer Steve Riley rounding out a solid, in-the-pocket dance band for most of these proceedings.

Archival tracks Jane taped at various rehearsals and jams throughout the years are the album’s coup de gras. Three tracks feature fiddlers Eric and Clay Chapman, grandsons of fiddler Sady Courville and great nephews of Courville’s lifetime duet partner Dennis McGee. The Chapmans were weaned on the McGee-Courville style, which is exemplified by the rendition of “Gilbeau Pelican-Berzas Reel.”

The Vidrine-Chapman Family Band played for nearly a decade that included appearances at four Festivals Acadiens and various out-of-state festivals. For years, Cajun music zealots waited with cautious optimism for some type of Chapman recording. Sadly, those hopes disappeared when Clay unexpectedly passed away in 2008. To date, these are the only publicly available tracks from a family album that seamlessly spans decades while celebrating the essential joie de vivre spirit.