Stars celebrate Arhoolie’s 60 years
Since the late 1950s, one of the particular pleasures provided by the Bay Area roots music scene has been impromptu encounters with Chris Strachwitz, the man responsible for recording, collecting, producing and releasing a vast treasure trove of regional sounds via his El Cerrito label Arhoolie Records.
Garrulous, opinionated and brimming with enthusiasm, Strachwitz has always been eager to share impressions of his latest musical adventure at some blues joint, fiesta or fish fry. Now at 89, his rambling days may be over, but he hasn’t missed a beat when it comes to championing the traditional styles that can provide a bulwark against the loss of a people’s culture.
His life’s work and legacy are the subject of a celebration Thursday, Dec. 10, marking Arhoolie Records’ 60th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of the Arhoolie Foundation, a nonprofit organization that documents the roots music traditions for which Strachwitz has long advocated. The free virtual concert and awards ceremony features a slew of musical luminaries profoundly inspired by the label’s releases, including
Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Ry Cooder and Norteño superstars Los Tigres del Norte.
There’s also a contingent of younger musicians whose music draws deeply on the work of artists documented by Arhoolie, such as La Santa Cecilia vocalist La Marisoul, Texas blues belter Ruthie Foster, and Mariachi Mestizo’s Anaí and Xochitl Morales, “sisters from the Central Valley who sing wonderful duets,” said Strachwitz from his assisted living facility in San Rafael, his voice carrying traces of his upbringing in Germany. “Their father is a great mariachi, and I’m totally taken with them.”
Hosted by folklorist and “American Routes” public radio producer Nick Spitzer, the concert also plans to include artists documented by Strachwitz, such as North Bay resident and blues great Charlie Musselwhite, sacred steel stars the Campbell Brothers, Max Baca’s conjunto Los Texmaniacs, and bluegrass legend Del McCoury.
“I heard him with Bill Monroe and fell in love with the way he sang ‘ I Wonder Where You Are Tonight,’ ” Strachwitz recalled. “He’s an extraordinary person. He made his first solo album for Arhoolie, and he’s never forgotten it.”
Featuring exclusive performances taped specially for the celebration, the concert was edited by Maureen Gosling, whose connection with Strachwitz dates back decades as an essential collaborator with the late Academy Awardwinning documentary filmmaker Les Blank. His production company Flower Films long shared a building on San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito with Arhoolie and its companion record store Down Home Music, which continues to serve as a mecca for roots music fans.
The synergy generated by Strachwitz and Blank’s shared love of American roots music led to a series of groundbreaking documentaries and musical portraits. Strachwitz produced Gosling and Blank’s 1989 zydeco and Cajun music documentary “J’ai Été Au Bal” (“I Went to the Dance”), and she went on to
direct, produce and edit the 2013 feature documentary “This Ain’t No Mouse Music: The Story of Chris Strachwitz and Arhoolie Records” with Chris Simon.
The three musical realms that Strachwitz played a particularly important role in documenting — blues, zydeco and Cajun music, and regional Mexican styles — are all represented among the foundation’s awards. The 2020 Arhoolie Award honorees, who will be performing songs from the label’s catalog and speaking about its impact on their music as part of Thursday’s concert, are Bay Area R& B great Sugar Pie DeSanto, Cajun fiddler Courtney Granger and the New Orleans arts nonprofit the Roots of Music.
A special Chris Strachwitz Legacy Award goes to Tejano accordion master Flaco Jiménez, a subject of Blank’s 1976 film “Chulas Fronteras.”
“It’s amazing how this one little downhome label has influenced people like Bonnie Raitt and Linda Ronstadt,” said Granger, a founding member of the Grammynominated Pine Leaf Boys, a Louisiana roots combo. “There’s not a mainstream artist who hasn’t been influenced by a regional music that Chris has brought back to life. Some of this music was dying before he came around. That says everything great about what Chris has done in the last 60 years.”
With the Arhoolie documented Savoy Family Band, BeauSoleil Trio and Cajun fiddler and accordionist Cedric Watson also on the concert roster, Strachwitz’s love of Louisiana roots music is evident. More than capturing the sounds of the moment, Strachwitz has always sought to strengthen traditional culture by amplifying the sound of a community’s soul.
Since the expansive Arhoolie catalog was acquired by Smithsonian Folkways in 2016, it is a mission that has gained momentum.
“There’s so little opportunity for youngsters to get to play instruments in some communities,” Strachwitz said, “but groups like the Roots of Music are doing wonderful things so that people are taking pride in their culture, in who they are and what they have.”