The Folkways Collection: NEAW 24-week series airs Sunday ar 9pm. on the CKUA Radio Neswork web site Jan. 31 --- A Folkways Overture. Feb. 7 — Afases Asch: Man and Myth Feb, 14 - - Folkways: An American Canon The third program in the series explores the Folkways Collection in terms of its remarkable breadth and the fascinating way in which: it was catalogued by Moses Asch. Feb. 21, 28, March 7 — Pragrams Four, Five and Sis: The Anthology of American Folk Music. These three programs take an in-depth look at this award- winning collection edited by Harry Smith as a commis- sioned project by Folkways. March 14 — Hudson Leadbetter. In addition to his own compositions, Leadbelly was a living library of old European ballads, black work songs, southern ballads, blues and even cowboy songs. March 21 — Woody Guthrie. An original tolk hero, Guthrie transiormed the folk ballad into a vehicle for social protest. March 28 — The Blues. Among the works used are selections trom the blues anthology entitled Ase; Recordings 1939-47, Volume 1: Blues, Gospel and Juss. April 4 — Jazz. Two record- ings lay the foundation for this program: isch Recordings 1939- 47, Volusme 1: Blues, Gospel and Jass and jass Piano Greats: From Original Pians Solo Recordings by Moses Asch, 1944-45. April 11 — Country and Bluegrass. April 18 — Pete Seeger. April 25 — Music and the Winds of Change: The Labour Movement . May 2 — Music and the Winds of Change: The Civil Rights. May 9 — Music and the Winds of Change: The Women’s Movement. May 16 — Children’s Music. May 23 — Voices of History Devoted to documentaries and oral history. May 30 & June 6 — ’ Programs Eighteen and Nineteen: Music of the World. June 13 — The Poets. June 20 & 27 — Programs Twenty-One and Twenty- Two: Subterrancan Homesick Blues Greenwich Village in the 1960s. July 4 — Phil Ochs. July 11 — Program Twenty- Four: Epilogue looks back at the entire catalogue. Photos Theo Pelietier IMAGES from the River of Seng (clockwise from top left): Babes in Toyland drummer Lori Barbero; Sylvester “Sunshine “ Lee in East St. Louis, IL.; Ann Peebles waits for her cue in the studio; Trombone Shorty's young brass band performs fer tips in New Orleans. - Edmonton station CKUA strikes the mother lode cf American folk culture 1 The Folkways Collection broadcast Sunday mornings at 9 a.m. on the CKUA Alberta Radio Network. A 24-week series of one-hour pro- grams produced by Cathy Ennis and Brian Dunsmore. Vancouver listeners can hear the show on their website at . Jehn Goadman This Week Editor johng@nsnews.com ALBERTA’S community-owned radio network CKUA began airing a world- class documentary series on the Smithsonian-Folkways label three weeks ago. Managing to get hold of the mother jode of American folk culture was quite a coup for the Canadian broadcasters. The project examines recordings released over a 50-vear period by founder Moses Asch and his heirs. The New York producer began the label in 1948 to document material chat he felt was being overlooked by the major labels. The dises were produced and distributed in small quantities as demand dictated. \ In 1986, Asch died and the Smithsonian Institution acquired the almost 2,200 albums in the Folkways catalogue. Smithsonian- Folkways continues the legacy he started by distributing the discs and producing new work. The only two complete sets of the catalogue out- side the Smithsonian belong to Asch’s son and the University of Alberta. Michael Asch is Professor Emeritus in the school’s anthropology department. CKUA executive Ken Davis contacted Asch in 1997 about the possibility of working on a series about the collection. A team from the network trav- elled to New York last May for the label’s 50th birth- day celebrations ar Carnegie Hall. “Thar’s where the project really started,” says CKUA’s Cathy Ennis, host of a three-hour daily pro- gram called The Listening Room. “We sat down for two hours with Pete Seeger at the anniversary and we also got a chance to talk with Nora Guthrie.” Other interviews in the series include Billy Bragg, Bruce Cockburn, Dave Van Ronk, Angela Davis, Dar Williams, and Leadbelly’s niece Tiny Robinson. This Sunday critic Greil Marcus will be onc of the commentators. “The next three programs four, five and six are a look ar the Avtholoqy of American Folk Music,” says Ennis. “It's a three-CD set that was re- released last year on Smichsonian-Follkovays and won two Grammy awards. The first program introduces listeners to the anthology and the man responsible for putting it together, Harry Smith.” Marcus, who wrote the finer notes for the anthology, will talk about the elusive Smith. The scries then moves on to discuss two of the label’s mainstays Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie before venturing out into the wide spectrum of material recorded by Asch. Ennis, a long-time broadcaster with CKUA, co- produced The Folkways Collection with Brian Dunsmore. Michael Asch and Rob Wiznura, a University of Alberta post-graduate student, acted as creative consultants. Dan Cherwoniak is technical producer. “We're running (the series) through CKUA first and then we have had interest from NPR stations and from other stations here in Canada,” says Ennis. “Ie’s been quite the adventure and we’re very proud of the product.” ‘ fferent and different waters flow community in Minneapolis. The looser rhythms of rural life are scattered throughout the record, The 36 tracks were all recorded live on location over a two-year period between 1995 and 1997 “On those who step into the sa me rivers diffesent and different waters flow.” — Heraclitus @ xx River of Song (A Musical Journey Down the Mississippi) — Various artists Smithsonian Folkways (SFW 40086) 1998. Two CDs with 48-page booklet. with many gems awaiting the listener. A couple of standouts: Ann Peebles singing Se. Louis Blses in Memphis’ Easley Studios with only the Memphis Horns and piano for accompaniment. While River of Song is all about context, this track manages to put Peebles in a different setting than we usually hear her in. Sublime. Soul Asylum recorded their contribution J Did My Best in their AMONG the new releases from Smithsonian-Folkways is a unique celebration of the Mississippi River documenting the musicians who work and live along its banks. While certain areas of the river are justifiably famous for their music (New Orleans, Memphis) the new set takes us on a linear trek down the entire length of the Mississippi — starting just south of the Canadian border and ending in the Gulf of Mexico. To attempt to get a handle on this mammoth undertaking the river was broken down inte four geographic areas on two CDs: 1) The Headwaters (northern Minnesota to Douds, Iowa); 2) Midwestern Crossroads (Galena, Illinois to Ste. Genevieve, Missouri); 3) Southern Fusion (La Center, Keniucky to Jackson, MS) and 4) Louisiana. OF course not everything can be contained within the drawn-up boundaries and the musicians overflow the categorical banks at the drop ofa snare. There are also obvious divisions between north and south/rural and urban cultures with the majority of the second album made up of Afro- American music. The first has a wider range of cultures including a contribution from the Hmong rehearsal space, a warehouse en the east bank of the Mississippi in Minneapolis. Alternative country rockers the Bottle Rockets do their ode to flood waters Get Down, River in their apartment over the Hi Point Bar, in Festus, Missouri. Bluesman Big Jack Johnson takes a solo turn on Catfish ina Clarksdale, Mississippi backyard then fronts the Jelly Roll Kings ata Delta juke joint with Shake Your Money Maker. The list of great performances goes on and on but their are some disappointments as well. Getting Little Milton on tape was a nice addition but choosing his R&B hit Grits Ain't Groceries is a pretty tired choice for a song — he sounds like he’s falling asleep near the end. The River of Song project also includes a PBS TV documentary (broadcast last month) and a book from St. Martin’s Press authored by Elijah Wald and John Junkerman. Another new release from Smithsonian-Folkways is a three-CD set focussing on highlights from the fabel’s World Music, American Roots and Children’s Music collections. This samplez makes a great introduction to the elassic recordings in the catalogue. : — Jolm Goodman