by Chuck Taggart
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield throw great parties.
At the most recent one, the food was great, there was plenty of ice cream available (natch), the music ... well, the music was by some of the folks on these two albums. And they invited their closest friends to come by and have a good time. Forty-two thousand of them, in fact.
The One World One Heart Music Festivals are the most recent evolution of the thank-you parties thrown by Cohen and Greenfield since their company's inception on 1978 for their customers, the folks who eat Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt. "When we were a small company, we threw small parties," said Cohen. "Now that we're a bigger company, we like to throw bigger parties."
Indeed.
Since 1990, Ben and Jerry have been throwing bigger and bigger festivals, from Vermont to Chicago to San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. The idea behind the festivals is for the company to give a little back to the communities they serve, and to advance the company's driving efforts toward working for progressive social change in the United States. And the admission? Free, save for a 25-cent postcard, which they ask you to send to your Congressperson, Senator or the President -- and once you fill in your postcard, you trade it in for a free ice cream. Not a bad deal at all!
The music featured at the festivals ranges from contemporary folk and world music to zydeco and blues to rock and roots-rock, and Ben & Jerry's festival coordinators never fail to bring in the best and most exciting artists in folk, roots and rock. Here we bring you some of the festival performers as well as other artists from around the world whose music is in the spirit of the One World One Heart Festival. So sit back, have an ice cream, and enjoy!
We begin with The Night Tripper himself, Dr. John, aka Mac Rebennack. This native of the Crescent City has been in the forefront of New Orleans rhythm & blues since he began in that city's local music scene in the '50s. He's been a sideman and producer, a songwriter and singer, a guitarist and in particular a brilliant pianist right out of the mold of his musical heroes Tuts Washington and Professor Longhair. His music is, as he'd perhaps describe it himself, fonky! He's taken his gris-gris sounds to countless recordings as a session musician, to mainstream rock with his hits "Right Place, Wrong Time" and "Such a Night" (on which he was backed by The Meters) and even to TV theme songs and commercial jingles! But here, in a track from his back-to-the-roots album Goin' Back to New Orleans, he's joined by The Neville Brothers, Danny Barker, and a host of great musicians for this tribute to the black Indian tribes of New Orleans with the old Indian song "My Indian Red". The black Indians, such as the Wild Magnolias, the Golden Eagles, and the gone-but-not-forgotten Wild Tchoupitoulas, celebrate Mardi Gras with fantastically elaborate feathered and beaded costumes, constructed from scratch each year, and are a part of New Orleans' African-American cultural tradition dating back to the days of Congo Square in the 18th Century -- see them in the neighborhoods on Mardi Gras morning, or at their wildly well-received performances at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
The guitar wizardry dazzles us in "1952 Vincent Black Lightning", a modern folk tale from singer, songwriter, and guitar hero Richard Thompson. Since becoming a founding member of the legendary Fairport Convention at age 17, Thompson has been a pioneer in contemporary rock and folk-rock, drawing inspiration from English folk and the Celtic tradition as fuel for his electric guitar. His brilliant songs speak of love, betrayal and doom, often with wry wit, and shimmer with absolutely mind-boggling guitar playing. A newcomer to Thompson's playing might, while listening to this gem of a song, think that there were two guitarists playing instead of one.
Today's Cajun culture and language and inextricably tied to the music, and with musicians like Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys carrying the torch one has no worries about the future of this music. The Mamou Playboys are one of the most exciting young traditional Cajun bands around, playing their music with a driving, contemporary verve and energy while remaining tightly bound to the Cajun tradition. Steve is a virtuoso accordionist and fiddler, having learned at the side of many of the old-time greats of Cajun music, many of whom are no longer with us. The late, great Dewey Balfa was Steve's friend and mentor, and his spirit lives in the Playboys' version of his song "Parlez-Nous à Boire", which was originally recorded by The Balfa Brothers for their breakthrough album, The Balfa Brothers Play Traditional Cajun Music.
One of the most exciting roots genres to emerge in recent years has been the wave of indie country and country/punk bands, young musicians who emerge from a rock 'n' roll background and sensibility but who draw their inspiration from Hank Williams and Merle Haggard as much as from Black Flag. Perhaps the best of the bunch was Uncle Tupelo, a band from Belleville, Illinois that rocked as hard and loud as the hardest and loudest of them, but who were roots musicians at heart, and who also wrote and played folk and country tunes of amazing delicacy and beauty. This was a special band, with Jay Farrar's spine- tinglingly timeless voice and Jeff Tweedy's raspy and endearing one, and rounded out with acoustic and electric guitars, fiddle, mandolin and pedal steel. Jay and Jeff wrote the band's material as well, and Jeff takes the lead here with the song "New Madrid" from the band's final album Anodyne. Unfortunately, Farrar and Tweedy have since gone their separate ways, but fortunately we'll be getting two new bands out of the deal -- Tweedy retained the rest of the members of Uncle Tupelo, added a new guitarist and as Wilco will make their anxiously-awaited album debut in the spring of 1995, while Farrar's new band should hit soon after.
In a similar country/folk/rock vein is New Orleans' Cowboy Mouth, quite possibly the most energetic band ever to grace a stage anywhere. This is balls-out rock 'n' roll, strongly laced with country and folk, which features three of the four band members' lead vocals and gorgeous harmonies, as well as uniformly excellent songwriting. Drummer Fred LeBlanc more or less fronts the band (this is a band where the drums are in front of and not behind the band), and is a powerful singer with enough energy to power a small city. He thrashes the drums with a ferocity that makes one wonder if his drum kit ever survives more than one show, but will frequently thrill the audience with gorgeous a cappella versions of songs like "Crazy" (occasionally while hanging upside-down by his knees from the rafters of the club). Paul Sanchez provides much of the band's folk influence -- he has two solo acoustic albums currently available -- and wrote this rootsy crowd-pleaser, "Maggie Don't Two-Step", from their debut album Word of Mouth. Make sure you see this band if you're ever in New Orleans or elsewhere in the South where they might be touring, and perhaps we'll see them onstage at a future One World festival. And don't go see them if you're tired -- audience participation is mandatory!
Austin's Tish Hinojosa is a singer/songwriter of great depth and beauty, giving us songs of love, life and protest and bringing her Latin- American heritage into the folk/country/roots sound. She's released many recordings on the great Austin roots label Watermelon Records, and on Culture Swing, her first recording for Rounder, gives us a tale in tribute to the great Mexican cowboys of old, "Chanate, El Vaquero" ("Chanate, the Cowboy", to whom she sings "Don't despair, Chanate, you won't die, you always will live.")
South African trumpeter, composer and songwriter Hugh Masekela was, along with Miriam Makeba, one of the first people to bring the music of his homeland to an international audience. He made his initial fame as a jazz musician (and at one point received a trumpet as a gift from Louis Armstrong), but has always incorporated the melodies and rhythms of South Africa into his lively music. This live performance of the stirring song "Bring Him Back Home" was taken from the album Tomorrow. Masakela wrote the song in 1984, after he received some correspondence from then imprisoned Nelson Mandela. Now, more then ten years later, the exhortation in the song's lyrics have come true, and Mandela is the President of South Africa. The lyrics may now be dated, but the wonderfully uplifting words and music of this song can still fill one with joy and hope, now that freedom has finally come to South Africa.
Next we give you a taste of the blues from Buddy Guy. This Louisiana-born blues guitarist has his roots in the Delta, but made his mark with searing electric guitar that fit more into the Chicago style. For this 1981 recording, Guy and his longtime recording and touring partner, harmonica player Junior Wells eschewed the electric guitar and amps and played pure, acoustic country blues on Alone and Acoustic, a collection filled with classic blues songs in addition to originals such as "Sweet Black Girl". On this engaging track we hear Buddy just as the album title suggests: alone and acoustic, wailing the blues and making his 12-string guitar sing.
Roots-rockers Cordelia's Dad hail from Massachusetts, with two albums available on the OKra label. They're both terrific, and there are almost no original compositions on either of them. Cordelia's Dad plays folk music, primarily from the American tradition, but play them plugged-in, rocking these folk songs with arrangements of startling originality -- a great noisy rock band running head-on into classic Anglo-American folk. Band members Tim Eriksen, Peter Irvine and Tom King will tweak the lyrics and weave in new melodies here and there, but the songs come almost exclusively from printed and oral traditions. This song, "Narragansett Bay", is from their second album how can i sleep?, a marvelous collection of songs that are extremely loyal to their sources while noising them up wonderfully (as well as giving us a couple of straight-ahead a cappella songs). Keep an eye out for two new Cordelia's Dad albums this year, one all-electric and one all-acoustic, as well as the re-release of their somewhat hard-to-find albums by the Omnium label ... and catch them live if you can!
Billy Bragg began his career looking much like a folk musician -- one man and a guitar. However, Billy's was an electric guitar, and he approaches folk-rock from the latter direction. His terrific songs howl in protest as well as speak of tender love, demonstrate his deep concern for his fellow humans, and get his often socialist messages across with sarcasm, wit and tenderness without ever beating you over the head with them. "Accident Waiting to Happen" is from Billy's most recent album There Goes the Neighborhood, recorded with longtime bandmates Cara Tivey and Wiggy, and which features guest appearances from R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe and Peter Buck. This version was recorded live on New Year's Eve in 1991.
Folk/rock picker, singer and songwriter David Bromberg has had a long career both as a sideman and as the leader of the David Bromberg Band since the early 1970s. From his best-selling 1978 album How Late'll Ya Play 'Til? is a terrific set of folk/bluegrass called "Get Up and Go", an original Bromberg composition, followed by a blast of traditional fiddle tunes entitled "Ragtime Annie", "Cherokee Shuffle", "Chief O'Neal's Favorite", "Stoney Point", and "Katie Hill", with wild fiddling and mandolin picking that are certain to get your feet stomping.
The great rootsy rock band Little Feat called it quits following the death of lead singer, slide guitarist and songwriter Lowell George in 1979, and then resurrected from the ashes in 1988 with new lead singer Craig Fuller (formerly of Pure Prairie League). They chose an appropriate place for the new lineup's debut concert -- the 1988 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, as the R&B rhythms of that city had always been an influence in the band's sound (some people were surprised to find that the band was L.A.-based, and not from the South at all). The newly-resurrected Feat still do justice to all the band's great old tunes, as well as giving us some great new ones as well, including "Let It Roll", the title track from the band's comeback album. A word of advice -- be careful if you listen to this song while driving ... you might end up getting a speeding ticket!
The pride of East L.A., Los Lobos have been one of America's premier roots-rock bands since they burst onto the L.A. music scene in 1980, and for many years before that had been playing dances, weddings and quinceñeras. Their first major-label EP won a Grammy, and it's been all uphill from there. Los Lobos began playing the Mexican traditional songs they heard from their parents and grandparents, and incorporated the tradition into their rollicking and engaging rock music, where guitarron, bajo sexto and accordion accompany electric guitars and saxophones. Corridos, rancheras and norteno mix with rock 'n' roll, R&B and magnificent songwriting to give us a band like no other. "Whiskey Trail" is taken form their brilliant album Kiko; since then, the band has issued a retrospective of their career which borrows the title of their long out-of-print 1978 debut indie album, Just Another Band from East L.A. It's a bit of a mismomer; this band isn't "just" anything!
Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens have for 30 years been one of the most wildly popular bands in South Africa, and one of the best examples of the mbaqanga-township jive style. Backed up by West Nkosi and the Makgona Tsohle Band ("The Band That Knows Everything"), Mahlathini and the Queens make astoundingly infectious music to which it is impossible not to dance. Mahlathini is a "groaner", a deep and rough style of singing which perfectly balances the Queens' joyous, soaring harmonies. As Nkosi remarked during a Los Angeles concert appearance, "This is music we listen to when we have to walk ten kilometers." After playing the next song and exhausting the entire audience, all of whom were on their feet and dancing, Nkosi then said, "Now ... we are going to walk twenty kilometers!" If any music could give you the energy to do it, this could!
Louisiana zydeco music. Zydeco (or "z'haricots", from an old song called "Z'haricots sont pas sale" or "The Snap Beans Aren't Salty") descended from the traditional black Creole music of French-speaking Louisiana, and emerged as this old style of "French music" or "La-La music", as it was called by the locals, blended elements of blues, R&B and rock 'n' roll to become what it is today. Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural Jr. of Lafayette, Louisiana was a convert to zydeco after having played R&B for years, and was brought into zydeco by his mentor Clifton Chenier, the "King of Zydeco" and the man who almost singlehandedly founded the genre in the 1950s. Buckwheat plays the big piano accordion like Clifton, and his sound is heavy with R&B influences. From Buckwheat Zydeco's album On Track, we bring you an original composition called "Tout Que'qu' Chose Fait Mal" ("Everything Hurts"), a prime example of what Louisianians mean when they say, "If you don't dance to this, you're either drunk or dead!"
Malian guitarist Ali Farka Touré has released three albums in this country, each more dazzling than the last. He's a dazzling player, on both acoustic and electric guitar, and his compositions, and his music and lyrics are deeply entrenched in the culture and the land where he lives. He sings in a variety of local languages -- Peul, Sorhai, Dogon and Tamaschek -- and his playing makes us think about the true African roots of the blues. His most recent album, Talking Timbuktu, recorded with Ry Cooder, was a critical and popular breakthrough and sold an immense number of copies. Oh this track from his second album The Source, which also features guest shots from blues singer/guitarist Taj Mahal, he sings "Karaw", a song dedicated to Mali's farmers.
The Band have been one of most revered rock bands in history, from their days as The Hawks backing up Ronnie Hawkins, to their days as Dylan's band, to their breakthrough roots-rock album Music at Big Pink to their farewell concert called The Last Waltz. All Canadians save for Arkansas native Levon Helm, The Band benefitted from lead vocals from almost all of the band members, Robbie Robertson's great songwriting, and elements of folk and country fused into the band's rootsy, sweet and sometimes gritty sound. The band broke up after The Last Waltz, and Robbie Robertson has had considerable success as a solo artist in recent years. But the rest of the Band is still with us, and they're still The Band -- they've got a few new members and Levon, Rick Danko and Garth Hudson are still with them (Richard Manuel passed away in 1987). In 1993 they released Jericho, their first album as The Band since The Last Waltz in 1978 and their first album of new songs since 1975. A fine one it is too, and here we bring you "Remedy", the song that kicks off the album and picks up right where they left off.
New Orleans native Chris Smither puts on a terrific show with just himself, his blue guitar, and a plywood board to stomp his foot for percussion. He's a dazzling acoustic guitar player and soulful singer as well as being a terrific songwriter; his song "Love Me Like A Man" was one of his friend Bonnie Raitt's first hits in 1972. Though he shines in a solo setting, his most recent album Happier Blue expands his sound with a few guest musicians, and is filled with folk-blues gems. Taken from that album is the haunting "The Devil's Real", which amply demonstrates Smither's considerable talents as a lyricist.
Altan is the premier traditional band in Irish music today, releasing album after album of brilliant songs and tunes that make one wonder how any band can be so good and still get better and better with each release. The members of Altan are from the north of Ireland, and the band's sound is rooted in the music of County Donegal, home of the band's singer and lead fiddler Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh. Her fiddle playing combines beautifully with the other main anchoring element of the band's sound, the flute playing of her husband Frankie Kennedy, a Belfast native who embraced traditional music after a field trip to the Donegal Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking region) as a teenager. From their most recent and most brilliant album to date, Island Angel, is a medley of three tunes -- "Tommy Peoples/The Windmill/Fintan McManus'", the second of which was composed by Altan's other fiddler Ciaran Tourish. Sadly, Frankie Kennedy passed away of cancer in September 1994 at the very young age of 38, and will be terribly missed. However, in accordance with Frankie's wishes, the band will go on. Accordion player Dermot Byrne recently joined the lineup, and there is no doubt that Altan will continue to set the standard for Irish traditional music well into the next century.
Until recently, the folk music of Finland was little-known outside that country, but within the past few years more and more people in Europe and North America have been introduced to the marvelous folk traditions of Finland. One reason for this has been the remarkable success of the band Värttinä. This band began as a folk ensemble of children aged 10-19, and have evolved into perhaps the most well-known exponents of Finland's folk music repertoire. The four powerful female vocalists, including founding members Sari and Mari Kaasinen, are backed by an absolutely wonderful band of acoustic musicians; the one-two punch of the strong four-part harmonies and the prodigious talents of the band members make this music immediately accessible, and never ceases to grab even those who have never heard Finnish music before. From their brilliant album Seleniko is the spine-tinglingly beautiful song "Kylä Vuotti Uutta Kuuta" ("The Village Waits For the New Moon"), a wedding song from the region of Karelia, and according to Sari the band's most popular number.
The Iguanas have been mainstays of the New Orleans club scene for the last several years. Their irresistable blend of Latin rhythms, Mexican traditional music, and New Orleans second-line rhythms and R&B have been wildly popular among the locals who throng to Caf Brasil, The Maple Leaf Bar and Mid-City Lanes Rock 'n' Bowl to see their regular local gigs. They've even ended up being used in a local personal ad ("Single male, 28, seeks single female Iguanas fan ...") Such is the intensity of the loyalty of the band's New Orleanian fans, and for the past couple of years The Iguanas have begun to develop a more national following with intensive touring schedules, on their own and as an opening act for Jimmy Buffett, who signed the band as the first artists on his Margaritaville label. The tight harmonies of Joe Cabral and Derek Huston's twin tenor saxophones, Rod Hodges' stinging guitar and soaring vocals, the might mighty funky rhythm section, and the use of traditional instruments such as accordion and bajo sexto (a Mexican 12-string guitar) combine for a sound like no other, and one that never ceases to get everyone in the crowd on their feet and dancing. So make some room on the living room floor and dance to the Cabral/Hodges composition "Para Donde Vas" ("Where Are You Going") -- a sultry offering from their eponymously titled debut album.
Joan Baez has been an icon of American folk music since her first appearances at the Newport Folk Festival in the late 1950s. Her strong, clear voice and passionate songwriting placed her in the vanguard of the American folk revival, along with Peter, Paul & Mary and the young, acoustic Bob Dylan. Her passion for singing has always been matched by her passion for social justice, and was heavily involved in the antiwar protest movement of the 1960s. After retiring from the music scene for several years, she returned to recording in the late 1980s, culminating in the excellent 1992 electric/acoustic album Play Me Backwards. Here, as on most of the record, she's accompanied by the superb Dobro guitar player Jerry Douglas.
Of all American roots music styles, there is almost nothing as thrilling and stirring as gospel music. One example of this is the massive popularity of the Gospel Tent at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, packed with throngs of people there to hear local and nationally-known gospel groups and choirs. At the top of their genre are The Five Blind Boys of Alabama, under the leadership of Clarence Fountain, who have been performing since the mid-1940s (and who still retain some of their original members). To experience a performance by the Five Blind Boys is to experience one of the most spine-tinglingly mind-boggling vocal performances you'll ever see and hear. Spreading their message of the words of Jesus with soaring harmonies, howling solos and the lively backing band make the Five Blind Boys a joy for faithful and non-faithful alike. Their most recent recording Deep River was done for Elektra/Nonesuch's excellent American Explorer series of American roots music recordings, and from that we offer a bluesy gospel number called "Reminiscing".
Another of the more delightful roots styles to emerge on the world music scene in recent years has been the acoustic music of Madagascar. This mysterious island, the fourth-largest in the world, is home to unique flora, fauna, and a very unique and vibrant people with traditional music like nowhere else. Although off the coast of eastern Africa, Madagascar's music bears little resemblance to the African traditional, pop and dance music that's become familiar to Western audiences over the past decade. Tarika Sammy was one of the first Malagasy bands to make a living playing music (a concept foreign to most Malagasy, who consider making music to be simply part of life, and not anything one could make a living with). Bandleader Sammy Andriamalalaharijaona traveled the length of Madagascar and collected traditional acoustic instruments from all of the island nation's 18 ethnic groups -- instruments such as the valiha, the tubular zither of bamboo surrounded by strings (usually made from bicycle brake cables) around its circumference; the kabosy, a rectangular guitar-like instrument; and the sodina, a metal flute (often made from aluminum ski poles). The sound of these instruments is marvelous, and provide sparkling balance to the soulful singing and beautiful harmonies of this band. The song "Zanahary", a prayer for rain, is from Tarika Sammy's debut album Fanafody. The group has since had a change of personnel and is now known simply as Tarika ("the group"), and under the leadership of singer Hanitra continue to bring this beautiful traditional Malagasy music and new songs written in the traditional style to world audiences.
Louisiana's premier Cajun band Beausoleil have for nearly 18 years been exploring the old roots of Cajun traditional music as well as bringing in modern elements of zydeco, jazz and a little rock 'n' roll into their musical gumbo. Bandleader Michael Doucet reaches into the vast repertoire of music left behind by the old greats like Will Bolfa, Dennis McGee and Amédée Ardoin for source material, while at the same time contributing many wonderful new songs to the Cajun tradition. One of these is the title track of Beausoleil's second-most-recent release, "La Danse de la Vie" ("The Dance of Life"), a wonderfully joyous dance tune that celebrates the joys of things that really matter in life -- music, not money!
Peter Case has been a fixture on the L.A. music scene since the early 1980s, when he fronted the excellent new-wave band The Plimsouls. He's been playing solo since those days, and has since changed from a rocker to a folk-roots singer/songwriter, and a terrific one at that. Peter writes gorgeous, catchy melodies and his songs tell engaging little slice-of-life stories. After returning to a full-band sound on his album Six Pack of Love, he decided to record a solo acoustic album of his favorite covers and traditional songs, not unlike many of the songs he blends into his wonderful live shows. Unfortunately, his record company, who wanted another full-band album, turned it down, so Peter just put it out himself and sold it through his mailing list. Peter Case Sings Like Hell is the most excellent result, and has subsequently been picked up for release by Vanguard. From that, we bring you the sole Peter Case composition from that record, "North Coast Blues".
Banjoist Béla Fleck began his career playing bluegrass as part of the "newgrass revival" movement, alongside many great young bluegrass musicians like Sam Bush and Tony Rice. He made several excellent bluegrass albums for Rounder, and then began to get more adventurous with his sound. With his current band The Flecktones, he's taken the banjo beyond frontiers never before crossed by that instrument. Joining him on this exploration are keyboardist- harmonica player Howard Levy (who recently left the band), funky bassist Victor Wooten and the amazing "Future Man" (AKA Roy Wooten), who plays an instrument called the "Synth-Axe Drumitar", which looks like a guitar from a distance) but is a part-guitar/part-drum synth, which puts out an amazing sound. (Bela is fond of asking, a little while into a show, "Hey, I bet you're all wondering where the drum kit is ...") Blending elements of folk, jazz, rock, funk and even a little psychedelia (pleasing crowds of Deadheads on their opening stints for the Grateful Dead), Béla Fleck and the Flecktones take his banjo where no banjo has gone before, and get more and more exciting with each subsequent release. "Flying Saucer Dudes" is from their 1991 album Flight of the Cosmic Hippo.
We finish up Volume 2 with one of America's most venerable folk musicians, who carries on an incredibly rich folk heritage in his family -- Arlo Guthrie. Woody would be proud. Since the late 1960s, Arlo's been making folk music that carries on the tradition of protest that his dad championed, and usually injected a bit of a loopy sense of humor alongside the messages. Arlo's made a lot of great music both on his own and with his old pal Pete Seeger, and for years has been releasing a steady stream of albums on his own label Rising Son Records. Here we present a comforting old favorite, though -- Arlo's marvelous cover of Steve Goodman's "City of New Orleans", one of his most well-known numbers.
We hope you've enjoyed this compilation, and we hope it gives you an idea of what to expect at the One World One Heart festivals. If you've listened to this in the living room or car and only imagined yourself dancing and grooving to this great music in the midst of 40,000 other peaceful, happy, grooving souls at the fest, do yourself a favor and go see one!
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Chuck Taggart (e-mail chuck)