When it appeared that the University of Louisiana-Lafayette would have to delay their field recordings release of Creole accordionist Freeman Fontenot, Joe Hall thought so highly of the man that he released his own tribute that originally was going to be a companion to the ULL package. Hence, the resulting, one-of-a-kind project: a treasure trove of originals and plausible tunes that Fontenot would have joyously played on any given night.

Hall shares the limelight with venerable accordionists Nolton Simien and Mary Broussard, one of the few Creole women practitioners. They appear on two tracks each since their antiquated styles also draw from the same well as Fontenot’s. Of the three accordionists, the 66-year-old Simien is the most modern sounding, relatively speaking, while Broussard, the niece of genre patriarch ‘Bois Sec’ Ardoin, exemplifies the earlier days of Creole la-la and the Ardoin family style in general.

Supporting the accordionists is a crack band consisting of Mitch Reed (fiddle), D’Jalma Garnier (guitar) and Ardoin brothers Gus (bass) and Dexter (drums) who recreate the feeling of Creole house dances and their exhilarating ambience. Since historically there were many nights when a skilled accordionist played a dance solo, Hall demonstrates that his intricate, old-style technique and full command of the little band-in-the-box would have definitely fit in by playing solo on three numbers. As the translated title suggests, with Hall in the house, the Creole la-la music isn’t simply a part of history; it’s alive.