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NOTES FROM JACK
Sept. 20, 2002 Hi My Friends, Buffalo Republic Tappin the Earths Backbone David Griffith, our fine Flathead Valley multi-instrumentalist, has been
battling cancer and was greatly missed on this project. Even in his poor health,
he managed to lay down a musical track on one of the songs. We are praying for
his complete recovery, so that his brilliant musical arrangements can continued
to be enjoyed. The album is as well crafted, musically and lyrically, as anything I've ever
been involved with. This is the dividend of selecting and working with the
finest, most focused engineers and musicians that I know. I finally had the opportunity to work with Airshow Mastering of Boulder,
Colorado in the final stage of production. Dave Glasser, chief engineer, won a
Grammy in 1997 for his mastering of “An Anthology of American Folk Music.” My producer, Lloyd Maines, is just the finest there is, period. As is the
rest of the production team. Montana and Texas are blended once again. High Mountain Singers On a sad note, my mother-in-law Ruth passed into the spirit world this
spring. Her resilient spirit was a continuous source of amazement and
inspiration for those who knew her. She is greatly missed by friends and family. Here at the Kalispell homestead, the kids are growing like weeds (and the
weeds are growing like kids). Mariah is 8 and Scot is 5 and they are constantly
exercising both their brains and bodies. They are blossoming into fine human
beings, thoughtful and considerate of others. Finally, thanks for keeping up, from time to time, with my career. Linda and
I labor to maintain our independent recording status so we can select the
stories and music we present.
Hello my friends across the global village! 1998 has been another exhilerating and challenging year. Here's a little
update on what transpired. New Year's Eve saw our "Native Reflections" concert/visual show
cast its light upon the Historic Wilma Theatre in Missoula, Montana. This was
for "First Night," an alcohol-free, family oriented New Year's city
wide extravaganza. There should be more of these, not less! The Colorado Indian Market in Denver was again a January stop as I alternated
with R. Carlos Nakai on the mainstage at Jan Esty's superlative show. This year
it will be held on the third weekend in January. The finest Indian and Western
Art in the world is available. Make it if you can. Go Broncos! The past winter and spring my mother underwent a series of successful
chemotherapy treatments for cancer. This weighed heavily on the hearts of our
family and friends. Wally, my dad and "road manager," skipped the
first few tours of the year and stayed home with Mom. Cousin Bob was recruited
to co-pilot Brother Van and we were off! Bob, a Marine in Vietnam told me war
stories and I told him football stories, but I ran out of stories long before he
did - all the way to Long Island, NY and the University of Connecticut, where
nearby we saw the biggest casino in the world. An Indian Casino! We're still
speechless. An additional tour this spring took us through upstate New York, Connecticut,
Boston, Western Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, not to mention the Pacific Northwest
and Texas. In June, Linda and the kids (Mariah and Scot) joined me on an odyssey through
Bismarck, ND (where we edited and mastered "Buffalo Stew") to Nebraska
with stops at the Nebraska Storytelling Festival and Homestead Days in Beatrice.
A week later Fair St. Louis had me for the third time in as many years. July and August, of course, found me performing 30+ shows in Glacier National
Park for the 14th season with our Native American Speaks series. In addition
Paramount Studios, U.S. Green Building Council, The Buffalo Bill Historical
Center in Cody, WY and the National School Superintendents employed my services. In the first week of September, I ventured again to Austin, Texas with my
favorite drummer, Scott Powell, to record with Lloyd Maines at Cedar Creek
Studio. We laid the rhythm tracks for both of next year's releases as well as
completing the reconstructions for the "Legacy" project. It was
intense and spirited work. Lloyd is still beaming with pride because the Dixie
Chicks, for whom his daughter Natalie is the lead singer, just won two Country
Music Association awards. The next time the "Chicks" are on TV, check
out their steel guitar player. It's Lloyd Maines Ñ NatalieÕs dad and my
producer. Returning to Montana saw, in rapid succession, my appearances at the Libby
Nordicfest, Mansfield Asian Conference, a Teacher Training Workshop in Missoula
and a week-long residency in the Dillon area. In mid-October, Dad and I departed on a 6-week fall tour, beginning with the
Great Plains Anthropological Conference in Bismarck, ND. With the help of
Makoche Recording's David Swenson, we edited and mastered "Legacy," my
first anthology. None of the recordings on Legacy have ever been released on CD,
so all of us at Hawkstone are very excited. When we left the Rockies, with snow swirling high on the Continental Divide,
I knew that shortly (one week), we would be as far from the wilderness as you
could get on this planet - New York City, that is. Dad and I walked about 7
miles around the Big Apple one Saturday. It's nothing like a hike in Glacier,
but it stimulates the senses in other ways. New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania,
Long Island, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Washington and South
Carolina were all visited in this latest tour.
On a lighter note, our two precious children, Mariah and Scot, are growing and steadily claiming more intellectual and athletic territory all the time. Linda has her hands full, it seems, 26 hours a day and deserves, like most moms, a gold medal for her steady outpouring of love and patience. Thanks Linda, without you the enterprise could not fly. Have a great '99. Maybe see ya in Glacier this summer?? And remember, it's never inappropriate to tell those you love and care for that... you love and care for them. Some of our days are unexpected last days. Thanks to all our wonderful friends across the country for your warm and generous hospitality. Each of you made us feel so welcome in your communities and homes, and we appreciate your kindness! Keep the Spirit! Jack
July 1997 Hello listeners and friends around the country, Just thought I'd let you know what I've been up to both professionally and personally the past year. Professionally, it began with the emotional impact of several events that occurred in April and May of 1996. The first being during a tour through Lubbock, TX. My father and I attended a breathtaking performance titled "Charlie Goodnight - His Life in Poetry and Song." The presentation was the creation of Andy Wilkinson, western poet/songwriter extraordinaire. Andy told the story of the Southern Plains - eloquently, beautifully, humorously and sometimes tragically. Andy, the great grand nephew of this legendary Texas figure utilized oral tradition, extensive research of written sources and historic site visitation to weave a monumental tapestry of spoken and sung words that connected the audience spiritually to the land of the Southern Plains. Thanks to Andy's inspiration that evening (and subsequently), the goals for my next creative endeavor were set higher than I could have ever comfortably envisioned. A couple of weeks later I was back in Big Sky Country, driving through the Judith Basin (known as Charlie Russell Country). For a moment, I let my spirit and eyes feel and see hundreds of thousands of buffalo roaming the land. That little voice said, "Now this is a Buffalo Cafe" and the creative juices started flowing. In vehicular shorthand (that's writing furiously while driving) a song and a CD was born.
So, "Buffalo Cafe" has been a way of life for the better part of the past 12 months. I'm excited about the project and very proud of the production teams in both Montana and Texas. I easily envision a sequel because "spirits and heroes, tricksters and fools" of the Northern Rockies and Plains are too intriguing and numerous to contain in just one album. In researching "Buffalo Cafe" I received generous input from my great historical mentors Hugh Dempsey and Jack Holterman, who completed the circle of inquiry. Also, on a professional note, it was a great honor to have "Noble Heart" nominated for Best Independent CD by the Kerrville Music Awards and to have received a Hall of Fame Award from the Upper Midwest Region of the National Association for Campus Activities. So many people have asked us to put our info on the World Wide Web. Now,
thanks to the persistance and assistance of Morton Molyneux of Lethbridge,
Alberta, we are there. I hope you are able to check it out. This is a great
medium to communicate lots of interesting stuff - in a timely manner. Mariah
even has her own Home Page.
Personally, and most importantly, Linda and I have been blessed again with a beautiful and healthy child, Scot Wallace. Mariah is now 3 1/2 and light years ahead of where I was at that age. I'm only beginning to understand the daunting role of parenting and the important role of children in "educating" their parents. Many of you have asked me about programs on the Blackfeet Reservation that are promoting cultural awareness. Here's an organization that I strongly support. The Piegan Institute, a non-profit group, is dedicated to the preservation of Native languages. Founded and directed by Darrell Kipp, a Blackfeet Tribal member with a Masters of Education degree from Harvard, the Institute has opened two Language Immersion Schools on the reservation and will soon be opening a third school. The idea at both Moccasin Flat School and Cuts Wood School is to immerse the children in total Blackfoot language with no English spoken during school hours. Kipp uses Total Physical Response (TPR) method of learning to help the children internalize the language. With the operation of these two schools, the preservation of the Blackfoot language for future generations is a reality. The Piegan Institute receives no government funding. Parents are highly involved in the learning process. They attend one meeting each week and pay $200 per month, per child for tuition. For more information, write: Piegan Institute, P.O. Box 909, Browning, MT 59417 I'd like to say "thanks" to all the fans and friends around the country for the kindness shown to Dad and me during our days on the road. As always, thank you for your support of me and my music. Keep the spirit!
copyright 1997 |
