They All Played for Us: Arhoolie Records 50th Anniversary Celebration

In early February 2012, a three-day benefit for the Arhoolie Foundation was staged in Berkeley, California, marking the 50th anniversary of Arhoolie Records, which was founded by German-born American Chris Strachwitz. The core of the event was a series of concerts, which featured artists who have contributed to the vast Arhoolie Records catalogue of traditional, folk, roots and Americana music. They showcased a cream-of-the-crop contingent of Arhoolie recording artists past and present. All of the onstage activity was recorded by Fantasy Studios and photographed by Mike Melnyk for this book-and-CD package.

The opening tracks feature outstanding examples of vernacular Mexican music: the norteño strain favoured by La Familia Pena-Govea with master accordionist Santiago Jimenez, Jr; and the Afro-tinged jarocho courtesy of Los Cenzontles. Then there’s Ry Cooder’s gutbucket rendition of Woody Guthrie’s ‘Vigilante Man’ coupled with ‘Wooly Bully’’ the latter serving as a reminder of the profound south-of-the-border influence on American pop-rock. Other highlights include Michael Doucet leading the Savoy Doucet Band into the free jazz stratosphere with his fiddle solo on ‘Midland Two-Step’; the Treme Brass band guiding the crowd down Bourbon Street with a swinging funeral dirge; Toni Brown & Terry Garthwaite’s extended blues jam; and Taj Mahal’s beautifully spare, acoustic rendering of ‘Corinna.’

Even ardent Arhoolie buffs will find significant value in the text of They All Played for Us, which is packed with everything from historical notes to contemporary context provided by Strachwitz and Adam Machado. The collection also includes insightful commentary by the musicians on the preservation and resurgent popularity of these American music idioms.