On March 26, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings released Heroes and Horses: Corridos from the Arizona-Sonora Borderlands. Corridos--the Spanish word translates loosely as "ballads"--are story songs that tell tales of revolution, crime, heroic showdowns, horse races, and disaster.

The Arizona-Sonora Borderlands is an arid 120,000 square-mile region straddling Arizona and California. It also encompasses most of Baja California and the western half of Sonora, Mexico. Divided politically by the Gadsen Purchase of 1853, this unique region is unified by its Mexican folk culture. All of the musicians on this album are local to the area and central to the cultural life of their community, working day jobs in agriculture, mining, and commerce.

Corridos have been an important part of Mexican folk literature since the late 19th century; they continue to play a vital role in reflecting and shaping public opinion. Heroes and Horses is a slice of life from the Arizona-Sonora border as it has been lived and memorialized in corridos over the course of the 20th century. Rich with the folk traditions of Northern Mexico, these balladeers are usually accompanied by little more than a guitar and an accordion. Tales of triumph and tragedy fill this collection and bring the Arizona-Sonora borderlands to life.

Heroes and Horses is being released to coincide with the Smithsonian’s traveling exhibition "Corridos sin Fronteras: A New World Ballad Tradition," kicking off in Washington D.C. in February 2002 and continuing on to other major markets through 2005. The CD was produced by Jim Griffith, formerly with the Southwest Folklore Center of the University of Arizona Library. The center is a cosponsor of the release.

Other related titles available from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings include Borderlands: From Conjunto to Chicken Scratch, Music of the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and Arizona (various artists, SFW 40418) and Taquachito Nights: Conjunto Music from South Texas (various artists, SFW 40477).

On April 23, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings will release Classic Bluegrass from Smithsonian Folkways (SFW 40092), a 25-track collection of songs performed by legendary artists–Bill Monroe, Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, The Stanley Brothers, Hazel Dickens and many others–who created and defined the genre.

It’s no surprise that Moses Asch, founder of Folkways, was a perennial supporter of bluegrass music, but you might be surprised just how far back that support stretches. In 1956 Asch commissioned a young Mike Seeger to record and compile a collection of bluegrass music local to the Baltimore area. The resulting American Banjo: Three-Finger and Scruggs Style is the first full-length bluegrass LP. Three original tracks from that album–by Snuffy Jenkins, Roni Steonman, and Smiley Hobbs–are featured on this new collection. Seeger went on to become one of Folkways’ most prolific artists and recordists, producing many of the label’s most important bluegrass recordings in the 1950s and '60s.

Seeger soon made the prescient decision to enlist his good friend Ralph Rinzler to help produce recordings for Folkways. To this day, Rinzler remains bluegrass’ most highly esteemed archivist. As chief talent scout for the Newport Folk Festival, Rinzler discovered and recorded Doc Watson (1961). He also produced and recorded hundreds of live bluegrass events featuring the likes of Bill Monroe and The Stanley Brothers. Rinzler’s live recordings are the centerpiece of this collection.

Other major figures in the bluegrass and old-time music world such as John Cohen, Ed Khan and Peter Seigel also produced recordings for Folkways during this time. Through their work, Folkways expanded its string of definitive releases, including the legendary Bluegrass album by Red Allen and Frank Wakefield (1964), and the debut album by Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard (1965), two of the first women to front a popular bluegrass band.

Asch continued to support bluegrass and track its evolution through to his death in 1986. More recent performances by the Lonesome Strangers (1982) and Johnson Mountain Boys (1993) prove that Folkways is still a vital documenter of the genre.

Fast forward to present day. With the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack winning several Grammys, and groups like Nickel Creek charting major sales success, bluegrass is enjoying unprecedented popularity. This collection is an introduction to the genre’s greatest generation.

Also on April 23, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings will release Ustad Mohammad Omar: Virtuoso from Afghanistan. Ustad Mohammad Omar comes from a musical tradition dating back to the 1860s, when Afghan ruler Amir Sher Ali Khan invited Indian classical musicians to become court musicians in Kabul. The Hindustani tradition of North India became the elite musical tradition of Afghanistan, and the artists who played this music were given the honorific title of Ustad. Omar himself was born to a family of musicians in the traditional musician’s quarters of Kabul and at the age of ten began his musical training under his father. He quickly developed into a virtuoso of the rabab, a traditional Afghan folk instrument from the southeast, and by the age of 32 he had joined the staff of Radio Afghanistan. From there he rose to become Director of the National Orchestra of Afghanistan, for which he composed over a hundred commissioned works.

In 1974 Mohammad Omar was awarded a Fulbright-Hays Foreign Scholar Fellowship to teach at the University of Washington in Seattle, which marked his first trip to America. It was on this trip that he gave the concert from which this recording is taken. On November 18, 1974, he performed at the University of Washington accompanied by a young Zakir Hussain, whom Omar had never before met. Omar played the rabab, a short-necked plucked lute, which is the best known of all the Afghan musical instruments. Hussain accompanies him on the tabla, a pair of hand-played drums. Although the two musicians shared no common language, they communicated musically, resulting in a virtuosic performance of Afghan classical and folk music.

For five years under the Taliban, musicians in Afghanistan were forbidden to perform or even listen to music in their own homes. Recent events have attracted our attention to the fragile artistic heritage that flourished among the culturally rich Afghan people before the Taliban arrived. As Afghan musicians now compose and perform new music, this album gives American listeners a wonderful chance to re-examine the musical legacy, which these new artists will build upon.

Produced and annotated by Lorraine Sakata, Ph.D., Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Recorded for the University of Washington by Betty Wangerin. Extensive liner notes. 5 tracks, 63 minutes.

And finally, the Smothsonian Folkways’ third April 23rd release is The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan. This 2-CD collection surveys the myriad musical traditions that one might encounter while traveling the fabled Silk Road, a historically and culturally rich region where, quite literally, "East meets West."

The Silk Road trade routes that existed some 2,500 years ago and stretched from China and Japan to parts of Europe, the Indian subcontinent, and Africa, were, one could say, one of mankind’s earliest forays into globalization. But these routes traversed a spectrum of cultures, each as rich as it was unique. The Silk Road explores the music of these cultures. It also demonstrates how cultural exchange was–and still is–a steadfast companion of commerce.

This collection focuses on the music one might have encountered along the so-called "Northern Silk Road," a route that spanned regions of China, Afghanistan, Turkey, Armenia, Japan, Mongolia, and the Siberian republic of Khakasia. The music of these cultures, while disparate, does form a coherent musical story. And compared to the music of other Silk Road cultures such as India and the Middle East, this story begs a wider telling.

CD-1 of The Silk Road, subtitled "Masters and Traditions," surveys what would be considered the art or classical music of the Northern Silk Road regions. CD-2, subtitled "Minstrels and Lovers," features music composed for a larger "pop" audience.

Much of the music on The Silk Road comes from the personal archives of the collection’s producers, Jean During and Ted Levin, and has never seen commercial release before. The dates of recording span from 1966 to 2001, but what all the music has in common is a legacy that stretches back some 2,500 years. Acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma–who founded The Silk Road Project cultural organization–addresses this legacy in an accompanying essay.

The release of The Silk Road coincides with the Smithsonian’s 36th annual Folklife Festival, to be held June 26-30 and July 3-7 on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Each year, the Folklife Festival explores the cultural traditions of a different geographic region. This year, that region of focus is The Silk Road. The Festival will feature some 350 traditional artists - musicians, dancers, craftsmen, storytellers, cook and more - from 20 nations. Theses artists’ demonstrations will be accompanied by scholarly presentations and children’s activities.

NOTE: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings retail distribution is through KOCH International at 516/484-1000. SFW releases are available from record and book outlets, mail order, and the Internet. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, as well as the original Cook, Dyer-Bennet, Fast Folk, Folkways, Monitor, and Paredon collections, are available via mail order at 800/410-9815 or via the Internet. Visit Smithsonian Folkways' web site at www.folkways.si.edu.