Contents
1. Headline Stories
     New Releases!
     Arhoolie 40th Anniversary Collection wins AFIM award
     Campbell Brothers' tune on the Sopranos show and soundtrack CD
     Sacred Steel Convention
     Robert Randolph on tour
     Arhoolie Foundation - Sacred Steel Guitar Fund
     Chris Strachwitz back from annual trip to Louisiana and Texas
2. Upcoming Releases and Releases in the Works
3. Notes from far and wide, but mostly from El Cerrito, and letters to the Editor.
4. Noteworthy reviews

New Releases!
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ARH CD 497 J.C. Burris, One of These Mornings. Release Date: April 24.
A historic release of a great blues singer/composer/harmonica player. J.C. Burris was a fixture in the Bay Area blues scene, singing along with Mr. Jack, his wooden dancing dummy. J.C. was Sonny Terry's nephew and had learned a considerable amount from him. Blues Professor includes all but one track of his original Arhoolie LP One of These Mornings plus an equal amount of never before released material (from a tape that J.C. had recorded himself in his bedroom). This is lively, powerful blues from a master of the genre.

ARH CD 7023 Don Santiago JimÈnez, Viva Seguin, Historic Mexican-American Border Music Vol. 12.
Re-issue of the original juke box hits from the late 40s and early 50s by Conjunto accordion legend Don Santiago JimÈnez (also known as the father of Santiago JimÈnez, Jr. and Flaco JimÈnez). Wonderfully melodic, danceable music from South Texas, played by one of the legends. Not only was Don Santiago a great player, composer, and singer but his conjunto consisting of accordion, bajo sexto and string bass ‚ were a tight, jumping group. This is the perfect record for dancing outdoors on a hot summer night!

Arhoolie 40th Anniversary Collection wins AFIM award
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Arhoolie Records 40th Anniversary Collection 1960-2000: The Journey of Chris Strachwitz (ARH CD 491) won the Association For Independent Music's Indie Award for best historic release. The five cd set, documenting the story of Arhoolie Records with tunes that were personally recorded by founder Chris Strachwitz (or at which Chris was at least present), has been described as "American Music 101, awe-inspiring, and a stunning collection."

Established in 1972 as NAIRD (the National Association of Independent Record Distributors and Manufacturers), the Association For Independent Music (AFIM) brings the independent music community (i.e. independent labels, distributors, wholesalers, producers, artists, retailers, and virtually anyone doing business in the independent music industry) together through shared information and education.

The "INDIE's" were conceived during the 1978 Convention in San Francisco to recognize artistic excellence among member labels and distributors. Through the years, the INDIE Awards have honored many of the best and brightest stars in the independent galaxy.

The 40th Anniversary Collection was also nominated for Best Packaging and Best Liner Notes. Also nominated for Indies were ARH CD 481 ‚ The Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band , Sam's Big Rooster (UPC#096297048122) and ARH CD 485 ‚ Various Artists, Masters of the Steel String Guitar (UPC#096297048528), both of which were up for Best Traditional Folk Album.

The awards were presented on May 5th at the Regal Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles.

Campbell Brothers' tune on the Sopranos show and soundtrack CD
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"I've Got a Feeling" by Arhoolie Records recording artists The Campbell Brothers was heard on a recent episode of the HBO hit series The Sopranos. "I've Got a Feeling," off of ARH CD 461, the Campbell Brothers featuring Katie Jackson, Pass Me Not (UPC#096297046128), was also used in the subsequent Sopranos soundtrack Pepper and Eggs (Sopranos vol.2).

The Campbell Brothers also played a well-received set at the Wall to Wall Miles Festival in Symphony Space in New York City. The Festival, a 13 hour tribute to jazz legend Miles Davis, drew acts from a variety of musical genres. The set of three tunes that the Campbell Brothers played was selected for National Public Radio's JazzSet with Branford Marsalis and was aired nationwide.

The Campbell Brothers continue to actively tour, with notable upcoming dates: June 25th & 30th at the Port Townsend Festival in Washington, July 1st at the Kate Wolf Memorial Festival in Latonville, CA, July 4th at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., and July 28th and 29th at the Cambridge Folk Festival in Cambridge, England. For a more complete schedule, please refer to the Artists' Itineraries page on our website: http://www.arhoolie.com/itineraries/index.html

The Campbell Brothers can also be heard on ARH CD 472, Various Artists, Sacred Steel Live (UPC#096297047224) and on the recently released ARH CD 489, Various Artists, Train Don't Leave Me ‚ Recorded Live at the First Annual Sacred Steel Convention (UPC#096297048924). They can also be seen on the Sacred Steel video ARH VI 203, (UPC#096297020333).

Sacred Steel Convention
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In other Sacred Steel News, the Second Annual Sacred Steel Convention was held in Sanford, Florida the weekend of March 31. It was quite a success, bringing Sacred Steelers together so that they could engage in an exchange of musical ideas outside of the constraints of having to support a church service. The music played there was ample evidence that the genre continues to grow, all the while staying true to its traditions and roots.

At the convention, Willie Eason's family presented a plaque each to Arhoolie Records founder and president Chris Strachwitz and Bob Stone. The plaque reads, "It is through your efforts that the children of the Eason Family have realized the contributions made by our father in the chronicles of history. Never could we have imagined that he was instrumental in so many playing the Hawaiian steel guitar, and his legacy, which you were able to bring to the forefront. Many thanks, the Eason family."

Willie Eason can be heard on ARH CD 450, Various Artists, Sacred Steel (UPC#096297045022) and ARH CD 472, Various Artists, Sacred Steel Live! (UPC#096297049224) as well as on the Sacred Steel Video, ARH VI 203, (UPC#096297020333).

Robert Randolph Tours
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Sacred Steeler Robert Randolph has been generating a lot of enthusiastic press, as well as enthusiastic crowds. Bringing his music to a whole new audience, he has performed recently with Charlie Hunter, DJ Logic, John Medeski, Galactic, and a host of others. Neill Strauss of the New York Times wrote an enthusiastic report of Robert's music in a recent article in the Entertainment Section of the New York Times.

Robert Randolph can be heard on ARH CD 472, Various Artists, Sacred Steel Live (UPC#096297047224) and on the recently released ARH CD 489, Various Artists, Train Don't Leave Me ‚ Recorded Live at the First Annual Sacred Steel Convention (UPC#096297048924).

ARHOOLIE FOUNDATION NEWS:
Sacred Steel Instrument Fund Update
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The Arhoolie Foundation's Sacred Steel Instrument Fund has completed its first round of donations and distributions, receiving over $11,000 of donated equipment and distributing it to promising young players to help further their skill and development. The donors were: Dan Tyack, Carter Steel Guitars, Ted Smith/Smith Family Music, Paul Crawford, Lonnie Bennett, William P. Erchul, and Chris Brinson. The recipients were Jason Haygood, Brian Josh Taylor, Chris Brinson, Maurice Bradley, Carl Smith III, Dante Harmon, Kim Love, and Reggie "Footie" Covington. The instruments were presented at the Annual Sacred Steel Convention, and the recipients are expected to showcase their improvements on the new instruments at next year's Annual Sacred Steel Convention.

The Sacred Steel CDs are:

ARH CD 450 - Various Artists, Sacred Steel (UPC#096297045022)
ARH CD 461 - the Campbell Brothers with Katie Jackson, Pass Me Not (UPC#096297046128)
ARH CD 462 - Sonny Treadway, Jesus Will Fix It (UPC#096297046227)
ARH CD 463 - Aubrey Ghent, Can't Nobody Do Me Like Jesus (UPC#09629704632)
ARH CD 472 - Various Artists, Sacred Steel Live! (UPC#096297047224)
ARH CD 489 - Various Artists, Train Don't Leave Me ‚ Recorded Live at the 1st Annual Sacred Steel Convention.

Also available is the Foundation produced Sacred Steel Video - , ARH VI 203, (UPC#096297020333).

ARHOOLIE RECORDS main producer, Chris Strachwitz comes back from his annual trip to Louisiana and South Texas
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This spring, as he does almost every year, Arhoolie Records founder and president took a trip through Louisiana and South Texas, listening to music, collecting records, and catching up with old friends of Arhoolie:

Some of the highlights of my trip were the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, where I was particularly taken by Nicolas Peyton's work performing the music of Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven, joined by Prof. Michael White and an ALL Star trad jazz ensemble. I didn't run from event to event this year but took my time checking out the many fine crafts people and was amazed by the free form jazz of two remarkable groups who alternated tunes as openers at the jazz tent stage: one was the New Orleans Sax Quartet who were very tight and together and they alternated with Winds Of Change including a German free jazzer. The MC urged the audience to let the management know that this type of often overlooked emotional but powerful jazz be presented more at Jazz Fest ‚ they sure have my vote! As a guest of Lars and Kathy Edegran I was also lucky to catch a number of fine jam sessions of more traditional nature.

A performance honoring the late Clifton Chenier, featuring "All The King's Men" including Clifton's son C.J. as well as Buckwheat Zydeco,drummer Robert Peter, tenor giant John Hart, slide guitar whiz Sonny Landreth, guitarists Little Buck and Harry Hypolite along with superb rubboard work (by, I think, Buckwheat's son) was truly moving and a remarkable event in every way. It was free and held on a wonderful spring evening in Lafayette, La. as the last show during their annual Festival Internacional. In delightful, down-home Creole style the whole show was introduced by two of Zydeco music's biggest and most authentic supporters. Journalist Herman Fuselier from Opalousas read the intros in English and long time Zydeco DJ Luke Collins vaguely repeated the intros in Creole! It was soulful, Clifton Chenier music all the way ‚ very little jive and bullshit ‚ just incredible music with Buckwheat especially showing his true strong roots in this music ‚ it was scary how much he sounded like his old one time boss! I was lucky to make an amateur video of the proceedings since no one apparently recorded or filmed the program although several local TV crewmembers kept crawling around the stage.

In San Antonio I caught the annual Tejano-Conjunto Festival, where I saw Arhoolie recording artists Flaco JimÈnez, who was in fine form and did a remarkably well balanced "show" which included his old dueto Fred Ojeda who sounded like Los Alegres De Teran ‚ then on came a wild rock guitarist obviously inspired by Santana ‚ then some Country & Western with Flaco's main singer acting like Garth Brooks ‚ then a charming young blonde lady from England joined the proceedings on fiddle who really tore up the place and did some nice duels with bajo sexto player Oscar Telles. Flaco closed things down with a fine traditional rendering of the old song "Cancion Mixteca". Glad to see Flaco back in such good form! I also did some video recording ‚ yes I recorded two up-coming CDs with my digital video recorder and a relatively good mike. The sound is a bit compressed but it sounds just fine ‚ like an old type radio broadcast! I recorded one session with LOS PINGUINOS DEL NORTE ‚ celebrating 50 years of being troubadors in the city of Piedras Negras, which is across the river from Eagle Pass, Tx. Since most of the musicians do not have green cards and can not easily come to the Texas side ‚ I recorded them over on the Mexican side. I also recorded another fine conjunto from Piedras Negras: LOS ALACRANES DE DURANGO ‚ who also feature accordion, bajo sexto and string bass accompanying their duet vocals. This is a fairly isolated region of the border and you might be surprised to hear many very regional songs and corridos - Prof. James Nicolopulos is doing the full documentation on the Pinguinos while the Alacranes will appear as the first release in Arhoolie's new 6000 mid price series on the ARHOOLIE/REGIONAL imprint which hopefully will get some distribution along the border.

Upcoming releases (and stuff in the works):
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ARH CD 498 CsÛkolom, Ludo Luda ‚ Fool's Fancy. The second album from the exciting string band from Europe. Following in the age-old tradition of Balkan musicians, CsÛkolom blends Hungarian, Roma, Serbian, and Romanian folk traditions with jazz, classical and Latin sounds to make music that is simultaneously ancient and modern, archaic and cutting edge. STREET DATE: August 14, 2001.

ARH CD 9019 John Littlejohn, Slidin' Home. When Chris went to Chicago to look for blues musicians, he had asked Buddy Guy who his favorite neglected giants of Chicago blues were. The answer was immediate: Earl Hooker and John Littlejohn. This recording, co-produced by Chris and Willie Dixon, is John's best session. STREET DATE: August 14, 2001.

ARH CD 9020 Chris Thomas King, It's a Cold-Ass World/The Beginning. Chris Thomas King has been receiving considerable attention due to his performance as Tommy Johnson in the Coen brothers' film O Brother Where Art Thou. His first recording was an Arhoolie LP. Now, for the first time, this will be available on CD. STREET DATE: August 14, 2001.

ARH CD 9021 Paulino Bernal y Su Original Conjunto Bernal, Mi Humilde Corazon. This is a collection of recordings of the Tejano/conjunto master from 1955 and 1956. Originally produced by the legendary Armando Marroquin for IDEAL records, these tracks, featuring Bernal's innovative and exciting accordion work and vocal harmonies, amply demonstrate why Bernal is considered the greatest in the genre. STREET DATE: August 14, 2001.

ARH CD 9022 Pedro Ayala, El Monarco del Acordeon. Pedro Ayala, the Monarch of the Accordion, was well known for his style, grace, and elegance. Born in General Teran, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, in 1911, Ayala started playing tambora in his father's conjunto at the age of six. In the turmoil of the Mexican Revolution, the Ayala family moved to Texas in 1919. Pedro went on to become one of the most popular accordionists in the genre. In 1948 he began to record as the "house" accordionist for the newly formed FALCON label in McAllen, Tx. Three cuts on this CD are from this early period while the balance consists of two full LPs from Don Pedro's later period. He played three times in Washington, D.C. as an invitee of the Smithsonian Institution and winning the National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship Award. STREET DATE: August 14, 2001.

Notes from Far and Wide (but mostly El Cerrito) AND Letters to the Editor.
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Well, not much beyond the news given above. No one has written any letters to the editor. We would really like to get some, though, so send them our way.

Reviews continue to come in of ARH CD 491 Various Artists, Arhoolie Records 40th Anniversary Collection 1960 - 2000.
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We are also getting good reviews of ARH CD 489, Various Artists, Train Don't Leave Me ‚ Recorded Live at the 1st Annual Sacred Steel Convention, including Buscadero, Victory Review, USA Today, and others. From Geoffrey Himes's review in No Depression: "a must-have for anyone who cares about steel guitar." From Dave Peobody's review in fROOTS: "Some of the music on this CD is so raw and so spontaneous that it's impossible not to get caught up in fervour that the music creates. It's inspirational in more ways than one."

On ARH CD 7037, Various Artists, Lamento Borincano (Puerto Rican Lament 1916-1939) A Tale of Two Cities (UPC#096297703724), Richard Dorsett wrote in Victory Review: "There's a mood to Lamento Borincano that unfolds throughout its fifty (!) tracks sure to arouse your interest. Vivid, descriptive narrative brings life to these severnty+-year old songsä.This CD will capture you." Paul Vernon, in fROOTS wrote: "Created with the love and care that we have come to expect from Chris Strachwitz and Arhoolieä.If you have nothing from Puerto Rico's first age of recording, this new set, with deep and informative notes, wonderful graphics and discographical information, is either all you'll ever need, or a perfect jumping off point for a lengthier exploration of the genre. I seem to keep saying this, but well done, Chris!"

Thanks to people like Pete Guerrero in Los Angeles and Terry Zwigoff, Chris has been able to acquire several fine stashes of old Mexican 78s and 45s which have helped make the Arhoolie Foundation's Frontera Collection more and more complete ‚ if anyone knows of any store or distributor stocks especially from the 1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s ‚ of any type of music ‚ please call Chris at once! 510-525-7471 ‚ will pay finder's fee if the collection is a good one!

For more information on any reviews, please drop a note to erik@arhoolie.com.