{"id":2041,"date":"2016-05-12T14:22:25","date_gmt":"2016-05-12T18:22:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/?p=2041"},"modified":"2019-09-12T13:00:45","modified_gmt":"2019-09-12T17:00:45","slug":"arhoolie-records-a-dozen-faves-to-smithsonian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2016\/05\/arhoolie-records-a-dozen-faves-to-smithsonian.html","title":{"rendered":"Arhoolie Records (a dozen faves) to Smithsonian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Excellent news on the archival recordings front: Arhoolie Records<\/strong>, the 55-year old treasury\u00c2\u00a0of American folk and vernacular musics, has been acquired by Smithsonian Folkways<\/a>, the non-profit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. So a broad, odd, historic, incomparable cultural catalog, founded and run since 1960 by producer Chris Strachwitz (now 84) enters\u00c2\u00a0the public trust<\/a>. Smithsonian Folkways guarantees “in print” status and teaching tools to its\u00c2\u00a03000-plus titles (also accessible by streaming), Arhoolie’s to be included.<\/p>\n

The best way to celebrate what Arhoolie has done is to listen to its artists. True roots credibility — the music people make \"51nLvtX-UWL._AC_US160_\"<\/a>for their own pleasure or solace and that of their communities –\u00c2\u00a0has\u00c2\u00a0always been the label’s\u00c2\u00a0hallmarks. That stance did not necessarily hinder Strachwitz’s success in the marketplace. The label didn’t seek commercial hits, but its\u00c2\u00a0releases were for a time\u00c2\u00a0monetized by a portion of royalties from\u00c2\u00a0Country Joe and the Fish’s “Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag,”<\/a> which I recall as an uneasily genuine expression of alarm among the\u00c2\u00a0draft-aged among us during\u00c2\u00a0the Viet Nam war.<\/p>\n

Here are some Arhoolie albums I’ve especially enjoyed:<\/p>\n

Fred McDowell<\/strong> — You’ve Got To Move<\/em><\/a> — \u00c2\u00a0\"51ok3qZ7QbL._SY355_-1\"<\/a>During the ’50s\/’60s folk Mississippi Fred, a slide guitarist\/singer of north hill country blues style (the Delta blues less-structured cousin),\u00c2\u00a0gained white kids’ attention for his austere lyricism, a\u00c2\u00a0well-spring of rock ‘n’ roll and much else.
\n
\nGeorge Coleman<\/strong>, Bongo Joe<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em>\u00c2\u00a0 The unique street performer based for decades in Galveston TX, George “Bongo Joe” Coleman used garbage cans as steel drums while whistling brightly and commenting freestyle, full of life and\u00c2\u00a0wit.
\n\"51rh89AuijL._SX355_\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Big Mama Thornton<\/strong> — In Europe, With the Muddy Waters Blues Band<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>A\u00c2\u00a0tough\u00c2\u00a0diva growls, backed\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>up by Muddy’s fine mid ’60s outfit with exciting\u00c2\u00a0Buddy Guy and the Aces, bassist Louis Myers and drummer Fred Below.<\/span><\/p>\n

BeauSoliel<\/strong> — The Best of BeauSoleil<\/a><\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Fiddler-scholar- \u00c2\u00a0\"61a47OiUWOL._AC_US160_\"<\/a>preservationist-modernizer Michael Doucet in his familylike quintet invigorates \u00c2\u00a0beautiful Cajun (French\u00c2\u00a0Arcadian) and Creole (ethnically mixed Louisianan) traditions for today.<\/p>\n

Klezmorim,<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0The First Recordings, 1976 – 78<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0Who foresaw renewed enthusiasm\u00c2\u00a0for the\u00c2\u00a0jazzed-up Eastern European inflections of early 20th century Jewish-American greenhorns? Arhoolie helped launch the klezmer revival, too.<\/p>\n

Jerry Hahn and his Quintet<\/a> <\/strong>with Noel Jewkes, sax and flute; Ron McClure, bass; Jack DeJohnette, drums; Michael White, violin. The straightforward, swinging, light-touched, fusion-nuanced\u00c2\u00a0San Francisco guitarist in very good\u00c2\u00a0company, a snapshot of the Bay Area\u00c2\u00a0scene at the time.\"51NkYE+fNnL._SY355_\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sonny Simmons<\/strong>, Manhattan Egos<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Ferocious “free” alto saxophonist Simmons (he also plays English horn) with his then-wife, equally boundless and maybe even more scorching trumpeter Barbara Donald and a rhythm section that forges its own solid identity during the performance’s course.<\/p>\n

Rebirth Brass Band, Here to Stay<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Rebirth is right — the New Orleans marching band tradition was hereby injected with irrepressible, funkified\u00c2\u00a0youthful energy, founded in\u00c2\u00a0irresistibly upbeat syncopation.<\/p>\n

Clifton Chenier,<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0Louisiana Blues and Zydeco<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Accordionist
\nextraordinaire, bluesman equal to any, Chenier leads his definitively roots band in rocking up’ up a really\u00c2\u00a0good time.<\/p>\n

\"51gG4oRp6wL._SY355_\"<\/a>Earl Hooker,<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0Two Bugs and a Roach<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0Uproarious electric blues \u00c2\u00a0from one of Chicago’s premiere slide and boogie guitarists.<\/p>\n

Dr. Isaiah Ross<\/strong> Call the Doctor<\/a>. This gentleman played guitar, harmonica and drums simultaneously, interdependently, a solo blues orchestra, with grace and feeling.<\/p>\n

Lydia Mendoza,\u00c2\u00a0La Gloria de Texas<\/a>. <\/em><\/strong>Women singers sometimes stand as beacons for\u00c2\u00a0an entire region or people. So it is with Ms. Mendoza,\u00c2\u00a0songbird of the Southwest, self-accompanied on 12-string guitar, expressing\u00c2\u00a0dignity, forebearance, sorrow and\u00c2\u00a0joy, transcending language.<\/p>\n

\"51sWB5knm3L._SS280\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The entire Arhoolie catalog is worth browsing — I know of no clinkers, and many other standouts. Up there with Yazoo, Delmark, Testament and Moses Asch’s original Folkways label — the basis of Smithsonian Folkways — as vital to capturing and disseminating our terrifically diversified nation’s sounds<\/p>\n

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Excellent news on the archival recordings front: Arhoolie Records, the 55-year old treasury\u00c2\u00a0of American folk and vernacular musics, has been acquired by Smithsonian Folkways, the non-profit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. So a broad, odd, historic, incomparable cultural catalog, founded and run since 1960 by producer Chris Strachwitz (now 84) enters\u00c2\u00a0the public trust. Smithsonian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2057,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1385,1389,1390,1355,20,1386,1338,1388,1387],"class_list":{"0":"post-2041","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-main","8":"tag-arhoolie","9":"tag-dr-isaiah-ross","10":"tag-fred-mcdowell","11":"tag-howard-mandel","12":"tag-jazz","13":"tag-lydia-mendoza","14":"tag-rebirth-brass-band","15":"tag-smithsonian-folkways","16":"tag-sonny-simmons","17":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/imgres-1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1i3CL-wV","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":237,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2009\/08\/smithsonian_jazz_09-10_four_sh.html","url_meta":{"origin":2041,"position":0},"title":"Smithsonian jazz ’09-’10: four shows and JAM","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"August 14, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Cannonball Adderley, Mary Lou Williams and Freddie Hubbard are celebrated in Smithsonian Institution concerts next October, February and April; a December \"Swingin' in the Holidays\" performance by the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra completes its year's jazz offerings. 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