In the liner notes for this record, producer Sam Broussard writes “This is an unusual album of traditional Cajun music. It highlights the deep groove that lies at the heart of all Cajun songs and the influence of our Creole…neighbors…This danceable music is too happy and too real to ever be a part of the broard mainstream.” Broussard’s comments are right on the money. The 17 songs which comprise Cajun and Creole Jam are an exciting blend of more traditional Cajun and Creole styles. Many of the songs were written in the late 1920s and early 1930s by great song writers like Dennis McGee, Wade Fruge and Wallace Reed.

Classics like the “Amede Two Step” and the “Mamou Two Step” are featured. The five musicians who work on this recording are superb and indeed the record is most notable for the high quality of their playing. The vocals on the album are very typical of traditional Cajun styles, often high-pitched and somewhat nasal, but definitely heartfelt. Each song retains one of the most important traits of traditional Cajun and Creole music—the ability to tell a story, sometimes sad, sometimes happy but always insightful, through the beauty of music.

Clever and inventive fiddling is showcased at the beginning of most songs. While many of the songs are upbeat and danceable, several waltzes are featured, and indeed the song “Au Revoir” is one of the nicest waltzes I have heard in a long time. This is a great record that would augment any collection. Currently, many musicians have taken to combining Cajun and Creole styles and Cajun and Creole Jam is one of the most successful of these efforts released this year.