Creole Stomp's new album features unique Mississippi River valley music

If asked, Dennis Stroughmatt and members of his group Creole Stomp will tell you they're from Old Upper Louisiana.

"They say 'What part?' and I say 'Illinois,'" Stroughmatt said. "There's always laughter. They think we're joking, but we're not."

Old Upper Louisiana includes parts of Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky, Arkansas and Illinois.

"Southern Illinois was the heart of it," Stroughmatt said.

Almost as forgotten as the name is the upper and lower Mississippi River valley's unique style of French Creole fiddle tunes and ballads, brought by early 18-century French settlers.

As a teenager, 34-year-old Stroughmatt began seeking out the last traces of this culture in a trek that took him from the Ozarks to Louisiana.

Stroughmatt is now considered an expert in the style, which is more fiddle-driven than Louisiana Creole, and characterized by longer ballads and faster dances.

"The music was kind of dying out, so I learned it before it did," Stroughmatt said. "The fiddle players I learned from all have passed away."

Stroughmatt's new album, "The Gambler's Fiddle: French Creole Fiddle Tunes and Ballads from Old Upper Louisiana Volume 1," is receiving national attention for preserving this style.

"It's the first major recording of its kind," said Stroughmatt, whose music and quest to preserve it are featured in the June/July issue of "Dirty Linen," the favorite folk and world music magazine.

"We all enjoy the fact that we are a band that carries culture, not just a band up there playing music," said Stroughmatt who performs the style at 180 dates a year, only a handful of which are in Southern Illinois where Creole Stomp got its start.

The band headlines this weekend's "Mardi Gras in May" Cajun-Creole Festival at Pheasant Hollow Winery, which also features Zydeco accordionist Dexter Ardoin and the Creole Ramblers, and Cajun accordionist Paul Gregoire and Roux de Bayou.

This largest Cajun festival in Illinois is expected to attract nearly 1,000 guests from a five-stage region.

The fest features free Cajun dance lessons by Donna Eckberg of St. Louis. Pheasant Hollow Winery will serve up its wines, imported beers, and Cajun foods including alligator tails, jambalaya and boiled crawfish.

Artisans are also on the grounds selling custom-made jewelry, candles, paintings and soaps.

marleen.shepherd@thesouthern.com

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