Little Village Foundation

The Little Village Foundation was founded in 2014 by Jim Pugh[1] as a 501(c)(3) organization based in Solvang, California.[2][3] Pugh is a veteran keyboard player who has toured the world with Robert Cray[4][5] 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.[6][7] The label serves an access point for previously overlooked artists who retain their intellectual property and album sales through their work with the organization.[8] 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.[9]

Discography[10]

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 Mixtec 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)[11]
  • Aireene Espiritu's Back Where I Belong (Filipino-American Californian who sings some tunes in Tagalog)[12]
  • Aki Kumar's Aki Goes To Bollywood (Bay Area-based blues harmonica player from Mumbai, India, who sings in Hindi)[13]
  • 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)
  • Kevin Burt's Heartland And Soul (Debut recording from Iowa-based guitarist/harmonica player who captured top honors in three categories at the 2018 International Blues Challenge)
  • 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)[14]
  • Whitney Shay's A Woman Rules The World (San Diego-based blues vocalist)

2019 releases
  • Anai Adina's Esperame En El Cielo (Harvard-bound multi-instrumentalist daughter of mariachi stars Leticia and Juan Morales)
  • Betty Reid Soskin's A Life of Being Betty (Spoken-word account of the African-American experience as seen through the eyes of America's oldest active Park Ranger)
  • Junior Watson's Nothin' to Do But to Do It (Jump blues from guitarist who's worked and recorded with Canned Heat, Big Mama Thornton, George "Harmonica" Smith, Charlie Musselwhite, Jimmy Rogers, Pee Wee Crayton, and many more)
  • Maurice Tani's This Is It (Alt-country artist recorded live at the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse in Berkeley, Calif.)
  • Mary Flower's Livin' with the Blues Again (Piedmont and lap steel stylings from Oregon-based singer/songwriter)
  • The Mike Duke Project's ...Took a While (Debut Southern soul release from pianist/songwriter who penned major hits for Huey Lewis & the News in the '80s and was a longtime member of the Delbert McClinton Band)
  • Saida Zahir's The Walking Stereotype (Poetry from 18-year-old Somali refugee now living in Salt Lake City, Utah with guest appearances from R&B bassist Jerry Jemmott and Tonight Show Band percussionist Vicki Randle)
  • Skip The Needle's We Ain't Never Going Back (Debut release from all-female R&B band founded in Oakland, Calif., in 2014 and anchored by Randle)

2020 releases
  • Casey Van Beek and the Tulsa Groove's Heaven Forever (Dutch-born, Los Angeles-raised '60s rocker and former Grammy nominee with the country-rock band The Tractors delivers a mix of blues, country and rockabilly in a style known as the Tulsa Sound.)
  • Ron Thompson's From the Patio: Live at the Poor House Vol. 1 (A masterful set of guitar wizardry recorded in San Jose, Calif., in 2014 and released as a tribute a few months after Thompson's passing due to complications of diabetes.)
  • The Sons Of The Soul Revivers' Songs We'll Always Sing (The second Little Village release from the quartet, which bridges gospel, soul and early rock 'n' roll.)[15]
  • Sonny Green's Found! One Soul Singer (Best-known for the song "Jody's on the Run," this Los Angeles-based, Louisiana-bred has been singing contemporary Southern soul music since the late '60s.)
  • 20x20: The LVF Singer Songwriter Compilation (20 artists in multiple fields contributed one song each to this collection. All of the material was recorded at home during the COVID-19 crisis with minimal backing. The roster includes Aireene Espiritu, Alabama Mike, Be Steadwell, David Jackson, Genesis Fermin, Ira Marlowe, John Arthur Bigham, Jim Bruno, Joe Rut, Kofy Brown, Lisa Leuschner Andersen, Margaret Belton, Marina Crouse, Maurice Tani, Nic Clark, Rachel Garlin, Sean Wheeler, Roger McNamee, Vicki Randle and Wendy Beckerman.)

2021 releases
  • Aki Kumar's Zindagi: Live It Your Way (single blues release with Bollywood overtones)

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.[16][17] The group also performed at New York's Lincoln Center in 2018.[18]

Formed a partnership in 2020 with Arhoolie Foundation, the non-profit that continues the mission of Chris Strachwitz and his Arhoolie Records, joining together to co-produce "Working from Home," a series of concerts that provide a revenue stream for artists across the U.S. who are housebound because of coronavirus and unable to perform elsewhere. The shows are recorded and broadcast via social media with viewers contributing to virtual tip jars for each performance. All monies raised go directly to the artists involved, and LVF and Arhoolie provide matching funds for the first $500 raised per show.[19]


References
  1. "Featured Interview – Jim Pugh – Blues Blast Magazine". Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  2. "Nonprofit helps worthy California musicians get wide attention". Sfchronicle.com.
  3. Ryan, Jim. "Jim Pugh On Building Empathy Through Diverse Music Of Little Village Foundation". Forbes.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  4. Kane, Dan. "Q&A with blues great Robert Cray". Heraldnews.com.
  5. Ginell, Richard S. (4 August 1993). "Review: 'Robert Cray; Etta James; Robben Ford'". Variety.com.
  6. "Jim Pugh on found music in the Bay Area". SFGate. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  7. "Nonprofit Label Little Village Finds Music Where No One Else Is Looking". Wweek.com.
  8. "Groundbreaking SF Bay Area label Little Village celebrates 7 new albums in Berkeley concert". Mercurynews.com. July 25, 2018.
  9. "Little Village Foundation Brings American Backroads Music to the Masses". Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  10. http://littlevillagefoundation.com/music/
  11. "John "Blues" Boyd Is 'The Real Deal' When It Comes to the Mississippi Blues". Theclassicalarts.com. 5 August 2016.
  12. "Aireene Espiritu on the road with a ukulele". Sfgate.com.
  13. "Aki Kumar fuses blues and Bollywood". Sfchronicle.com.
  14. "Marjory Stoneman Douglas Students Releasing 'Raise Your Voice' Album Before Midterm Elections". Billboard.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  15. "Sons of Soul Revivers celebrate 50 years of glorious gospel music". The Mercury News. 2020-07-07. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  16. Fisher, Alex (2017-04-13). "Mariachi Mestizo represents Kern County in New York City". Kerngoldenempire.com. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  17. "Grupo 'Mariachi Mestizo' debuta en Carnegie Hall". Telemundo.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  18. Matt Munoz. "Mariachi on the move". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  19. "Little Village Foundation's latest album showcases pandemic-created music".
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