From: Six
Water
Grog / February 14, 2011
Reviewer: Lanny Fields
Title: Album Review: The Gu-Achi Fiddlers, Old Time O'odham Fiddle Music
I recently happened upon a recording of fiddle-based music called The
Gu-Achi
Fiddlers, Old
Time O'odham Fiddle Music, Volume 1. It is
available on Canyon
Records, a small label devoted to Native American
music. Despite a cover photo which makes it look much older, I
believe
this music was recorded in the 1980’s so the audio quality is much
better than one might expect.
The Gu-Achi Fiddlers hailed from the Southern Arizona town of Gu-Achi
in the Sonora desert. They belonged to the Tohono O'odham Nation,
formerly known as the Papago. They were led by two fiddlers, Elliot
Johnson and Lester Vavages, and backed up by Gerald Leos Sr. (snare
drum), Tommy Lopez (bass drum) and Wilfred Mendoza (guitar). All of
those guys play on this release.
The music here is a melting pot of Native American, Mexican and
European styles: schottisches, polkas, two-steps and mazurkas filtered
through the indigenous melodies of the O'odham. The fiddle tradition of
Southern Arizona dates back to the days of Spanish colonization, when
Catholic missionaries introduced the Native American Papagos to their
European instruments and tunes. The Papagos quickly adopted the
instruments and absorbed the rhythms, giving birth to a form of
old-time fiddle music that is uniquely Southwestern, a tradition that
has survived until today.
There is a refreshingly un-polished energy to this “scratchy” and
slightly out of tune music...the players rely more on attitude and
enthusiasm than any sort of technical virtuosity. It turns out this is
a style of music I had been wanting to hear, I just didn’t know it
until I heard it! Not quite polka in the German sense, not quite
Mexican, and definitely not the same as old-time Appalachian fiddle
music. I encourage anyone with an interest in traditional or indigenous
music to check this out. It’s guaranteed to put you in good spirits!
(If you are a musician try playing some of these tunes - you'll love
'em!)
