There’s a saying in Louisiana (and elsewhere): “If you don’t like the weather here, wait a minute.” A similar sentiment might apply to the definition of zydeco music: if you don’t agree with one musician’s perspective, just wait and ask the next person. Their definition is almost certain to be dramatically different. Creole Soul: Zydeco Lives, Burt Feintuch’s lovingly assembled collection of conversations with leading performers of zydeco music, demonstrates just how dynamic understandings of the genre are, even among its foremost exponents.
A 2022 release in the University Press of Mississippi’s excellent American Made Music Series, Creole Soul is a large, handsome hardcover book that closely resembles Mississippi’s seminal publication on Louisiana vernacular music, Barry Jean Ancelet’s The Makers of Cajun and Creole Music (1992). Like that earlier work—which featured vibrant color photographs by the visual artist Elemore Morgan, Jr.—Creole Soul is lavishly illustrated with full-color photographs by Gary Samson. These images are, by themselves, compelling documents of modern zydeco and its practitioners.
The book is divided into two halves: the first focuses on Texas, and the second on Louisiana. This structure reflects a concern Feintuch raises in the introduction and throughout the interviews: that journalistic and academic discussions of zydeco in Texas are often overshadowed by the music’s Louisiana origins. Just as Chicago was integral to the blues and Nashville to country music, East Texas—particularly Houston—played a vital role in the development of zydeco as a distinct American genre. Feintuch takes care to emphasize this often-overlooked connection.
Beyond this effort to give Texas its due, the book does not advance a critical agenda. The introduction briefly notes the scarcity of scholarship on zydeco and the lack of ethnographic attention to the lived experiences of its performers. Each interview is preceded by a short essay introducing the interviewee, while the conversations themselves feel unscripted, meandering freely across topics. At times, the lack of editorial intervention may feel excessive, but the slow, unhurried pace succeeds in immersing dedicated readers in the worlds of zydeco’s living creators.
For this reviewer, that immersion is the book’s true reward. While many interviews are indeed lengthy and unstructured and could have been edited down, readers with a deep interest in the music will uncover fascinating insights and recurring themes. For instance, as with many forms of vernacular music, the book underscores the extent to which zydeco remains a family music—rooted not only in southern Louisiana but specifically in a few parishes, most notably St. Landry Parish, and sustained largely by an interwoven network of families. Listening to Lawrence Ardoin recount the stories of his ancestors, relatives, and community, the reader is reminded of one of folk music’s enduring wonders: how a music born in a small, rural enclave can evolve into a regional phenomenon, a national treasure, and a globally significant cultural expression.
Though the interviews lack a formal structure, certain themes surface consistently: the tension between the music’s rural, traditional roots and its urban innovations; its role as an ethnic expression tied to Creole culture; the degree to which Louisiana French Creole is present (or absent) in the music; and more, the increasing importance of trail rides. Several musicians discuss the distinction between Creole music and zydeco, while others challenge the racial dichotomy often used to separate Cajun music from Creole music.
For scholars, Creole Soul offers a valuable snapshot of zydeco in the early twenty-first century. Its relatively unmediated format and visually striking presentation make it suitable for the coffee table as well as the bookshelf. Tragically, Burt Feintuch passed away before completing the book. Special recognition is due to Jeannie Banks Thomas, who contributed much of the fieldwork and shepherded the project to publication. Together, they have created a heartfelt tribute and an essential addition to the study of an understudied corner of American music.
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[Review length: 639 words • Review posted on February 12, 2025]