Little Village Foundation

The Little Village Foundation was founded in 2014 by Jim Pugh as a 501(c)(3) organization based in Solvang, California.[1] Pugh is a veteran keyboard player who has toured the world with Robert Cray[2][3] and Etta James (see Stickin' to My Guns). Little Village Foundation (LVF) is non-profit company in the music industry that produces and distributes what it considers to be culturally significant recordings made by individuals and groups that might otherwise not be heard beyond the artists' community or family.[4][5] The label serves an access point for previously overlooked artists who retain their intellectual property and album sales through their work with the organization.[6] The artists come from widely varied and sometimes non-traditional backgrounds. Pugh and his associates scour the backroads of America to secure talent to sign and record, and several of the musicians have roots that extend to other nations, including Mexico, India, Russia and the Philippines.[7]

Discography

LVF released its batch of four CDs in 2015. Four more followed in 2016, and seven more have followed in both 2017 and 2018. Most are released in the summer to coincide with an artists' showcase on Fourth Of July weekend at the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, Ore.

2015 releases

  • David Ellis' "With Any Luck But Bad" (western/folk musician from Bakersfield, Calif.)
  • Los Tres Amigos' "Snuviko" (musicians from Santa Maria, Calif., who sing and play in the Mistec language of their native Oaxaca, Mexico)
  • Ron Thompson's "Son Of Boogie Woogie" (Oakland, Calif., bluesman)
  • Wee Willie Walker's "If Nothing Ever Changes" (Memphis-born soul-blues artist based in Minneapolis, Minn.)

2016 releases

  • John "Blues" Boyd's "The Real Deal" (Mississippi-born San Francisco-area bluesman)[8]
  • Aireene Espiritu's "Back Where I Belong" (Filipino-American Californian who sings some tunes in Tagalog)[9]
  • Aki Kumar's "Aki Goes To Bollywood" (Bay Area-based blues harmonica player from Mumbai, India, who sings in Hindi)[10]
  • Mariachi Mestizo's "Te Doy La Libertad" (16 high school students from Delano, Calif.)
  • Wee Willie Walker's "Live! Notodden Blues Festival Norway" (October release)

2017 releases

  • Sean Wheeler's "Sand In My Blood" (Salton Sea Legend of The Desert)
  • Chris Cain's "Chris Cain" (San Jose Ca, born blues multi-instrumentalist)
  • Xochtil Morales' "Descansos" (LVF's first spoken-word album -- the poetry of a member of Mariachi Mestizo)
  • The Sons Of The Soul Revivers' "Live! Rancho Nicasio" (traditional gospel quartet singing)
  • Maurice Tani's "The Lovers Card" (alt-country artist from San Francisco)
  • Paul DeLay's "1997 Live At Notodden" (blues)
  • Howell Devine's "HOWL" (Bay Area country blues and jazz)

2018 releases

  • Ada Pasternak's "Sweet Dreams" (Violinist and singer-songwriter -- recorded with and a tribute to her parents Rayhan and Igor, with whom she migrated to the U.S. from her native Russia)
  • Aki Kumar's "Hindi Man Blues" (A fusion of blues and Bollywood with liner notes from blues harmonica legend Charlie Musselwhite)
  • Marcel Smith's' "Everybody Needs Love" (Debut solo album from veteran gospel vocalist)
  • Marina Crouse's "Never Too Soon" (Bay Area Mexican-American blues, R&B and jazz vocalist)
  • Mariachi Mestizo's "XX Aniversario" (Mariachi follow-up to 2016 debut album)
  • United By Music North America's "Yes We Can Can" (blues, swing, jazz and rock-'n'-roll performed by professionals and musicians with autism and other developmental disabilities they mentor through their international non-profit organization)
  • Various Artists' "Raise Your Voice" (Collection of music and spoken-word pieces about school safety delivered by survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in Parkland, Fla., and others from other parts of the U.S., including the following songs/works by the following high school students: "Shine," by Sawyer Garrity and Andrea Peña; "Raise Your Voice," by Madison Yearsley; "Save Me," by Tyler Jenkins; "A Poem for the Fallen," spoken word by Saida Dahir; "Renegades," by Amalia Fleming; "The Truth: We Need Change," by the AP Music Class from John W. Lavelle Preparatory Charter School; "17," by Ben Soto; "The Separation," by Ashlyn Flamer and Christopher Doleman; "Little Princess," by Tyler Suarez; "Freedom," by Nina Lee; and "We Can," by students from St. Paul High School for the Performing Arts)[11]
  • Whitney Shay's "A Woman Rules The World" (San Diego-based blues vocalist)

Notable events

Following the release of their album, Mariachi Mestizo was invited to play in a showcase at Carnegie Hall in New York. The performance took place on April 10, 2017.[12][13] The group also performed at New York's Lincoln Center in 2018.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Nonprofit helps worthy California musicians get wide attention".
  2. ↑ Kane, Dan. "Q&A with blues great Robert Cray".
  3. ↑ Ginell, Richard S. (4 August 1993). "Review: 'Robert Cray; Etta James; Robben Ford'".
  4. ↑ "Jim Pugh on found music in the Bay Area". SFGate. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  5. ↑ "Nonprofit Label Little Village Finds Music Where No One Else Is Looking".
  6. ↑ https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/07/25/groundbreaking-sf-bay-area-label-celebrates-7-new-albums-in-berkeley-concert/
  7. ↑ "Little Village Foundation Brings American Backroads Music to the Masses". Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  8. ↑ TheClassicalArts (5 August 2016). "John "Blues" Boyd Is 'The Real Deal' When It Comes to the Mississippi Blues".
  9. ↑ "Aireene Espiritu on the road with a ukulele".
  10. ↑ "Aki Kumar fuses blues and Bollywood".
  11. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8471088/marjory-stoneman-douglas-students-raise-your-voice-album
  12. ↑ Fisher, Alex (2017-04-13). "Mariachi Mestizo represents Kern County in New York City". KERNGOLDENEMPIRE. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  13. ↑ "Grupo 'Mariachi Mestizo' debuta en Carnegie Hall".
  14. ↑ http://www.bakersfield.com/delano-record/mariachi-on-the-move/article_3c9e1e88-83a2-11e8-b90c-b771c814e87f.html
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