Chers Amis

EDITORIAL REVIEWS The Magnolia Sisters offer a refreshing perspective on Cajun music, not only because they may be the genre's only all-woman band, but in their beautiful harmonies and rediscovery of little-known traditional repertoire. Ann Savoy, Jane Vidrine, Tina Pilione, Christine Balfa and Lisa Trahan Reed are strong acoustic instrumentalists who have created an album of beauty and great strength, balancing rollicking dance music with haunting and ancient ballads. Name recognition is strong in this band: Ann Savoy is a member of the Savoy-Doucet Band (with her husband Marc Savoy and BeauSoleil leader Michael Doucet) and Christine Balfa leads Balfa Toujours. .COM The Magnolia Sisters are not related by blood, instead they were drawn together by their common love for Cajun music. The five-member group includes Jane Vidrine Tina Pilione Lisa Trahan Reed Ann Savoy, who is also a member of the Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band and Christine Balfa, who is the daughter of the famous Cajun fiddler Dewey Balfa. The Magnolia Sisters play a mix of songs and dance tunes that date from the early days of the Cajun presence in Louisiana in the 18th century to the first recorded examples of Cajun music from the 1920s. The Sisters are accomplished instrumentalists who play dance melodies such as Dennis McGee's "La La La La" and the Hackberry Ramblers' "H , L -Bas" with a subtly swinging rhythm that recalls an older style of Cajun music, before outside influences like honky-tonk country took hold. The CD's most powerful moments, though, come when Savoy and Vidrine put down their instruments and sing a cappella versions of the old songs "Le Pays des Estrangers" and "La Belle et le Capitaine." Their edgy, modal harmonies are sim neously ancient and modern. --Michael Simmons

Chers Amis