RIP, Artie Traum (July 20, 2008) Respected Folk Guitarist

Artie Traum
April 13, 1943 – July 20, 2008

Artie Traum, the award winning guitarist who has recorded with the likes of the Band, David Grisman, Paul Butterfield, and James Taylor has died of complications from liver cancer.  He was 65.

From artietraum.com: Artie Traum was an award-winning guitarist and songwriter featured on over 20 albums for Capitol, Sony, Shanachie, Slice of Life and Narada Records. A pioneer of the 1970’s acoustic music scene, Traum has been described as a musician “whose work defines the vitality and sophistication of American acoustic music.” (Acoustic Guitar Magazine 2002). During his career he produced or recorded with John Sebastian, The Band, Bela Fleck, Tony Levin, Richie Havens, Pete Seeger, Abby Newton, David Grisman, Livingston Taylor, Patty Larkin, Michael Franks, Jesse Winchester and dozens of top artists. A native of the Bronx, New York, Traum gravitated to the Greenwich Village music scene in the late 1960’s. It was there he became influenced by artists like James Taylor, The Even Dozen Jug Band, Bonnie Raitt, Muddy Waters and Mississippi John Hurt. At clubs in New York, Artie listened to John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Jim Hall, Howard Roberts and the Modern Jazz Quartet. He recorded his first track She’s Gone in The True Endeavor Jug Band started by blues writer Sam Charters for Vanguard in the late 1960’s. He played guitar for the blues vocalist Judy Roderick and was the featured guitarist on her highly-regarded Woman Blue (Vanguard Records). He co-wrote and recorded the score for Brian de Palma’s first film “Greetings” -the first role for Robert DeNiro – with Eric Kaz and the band Bear. In the late-60s, Artie joined forces with his brother Happy Traum. The duo recorded their debut album in Nashville for Capitol Records, a recording the New York Times called “one of the best records in any field of pop music.” The Traums were managed by Albert Grossman (The Band, Dylan, Peter, Paul and Mary) and toured around the world as an opening act with these groups and often headlined their own shows. They performed at the 1969 Newport Folk Festival and other major festivals on stage with James Taylor, Kris Kristoferson and Joni Mitchell. Their 2nd album Double Back was also recorded in Nashville, and at Bearsville Studios. Happy Traum moved to Woodstock in 1968 and soon Artie followed him to this small country town. The duo played major festivals and concerts around the world, with a strong fan base who enjoyed Happy & Artie shows that featured musicians Arlen Roth, Debbie Andersen, Eric Kaz and other top players.  During the 70’s and 80’s, Artie became an internationally known performer, appearing on stages in Europe, Japan and at the Newport Folk Festival, Philadelphia Folk Festival and Carnegie Hall. He also performed and co-produced the Woodstock Mountains Revue, a unique folk group that featured Artie & Happy Traum, Pat Alger, Jim Rooney, Bill Keith, Larry Campbell, John Herald and John Sebastian. Guest artists like Maria Muldaur, Rory Block, Eric Andersen, Paul Butterfield and Paul Siebel joined the group for recordings. The Revue recorded 5 classic albums for Rounder Records, and although Rounder allowed over 50 of their tracks to go out-of-print, the band is widely considered one of the premier folk groups of the time. In the mid 1980’s Artie joined forces with songwriter Pat Alger (Thunder Rolls, Unanswered Prayers, Once In A Very Blue Moon) and the duo recorded the album From The Heart. Pat Alger moved to Nashville to begin his career as a top country and folk songwriter. Rounder Records also allowed this album to go out of print, along with Artie’s Life On Earth and Happy and Artie’s Hard Times In The Country with notes by the poet Allen Ginsburg.  In 1988, Happy and Artie co-hosted “Bring It On Home,” a live folk show out of NPR affiliate WAMC (Albany, NY) which featured guests Richard Thompson, Rick Danko & Garth Hudson, Jay Ungar and Molly Mason and dozens more.   In 1994, Artie made a sea-change in his style. Drawn to the jazz of Weather Report, Pat Metheny and Earl Klugh, Traum started exploring new directions. “I’ve always loved jazz and decided try a jazz instrumental guitar project,” says Traum. The results were stellar: Artie’s 1994 release Letters From Joubee captured the #1 spot on the smooth jazz radio charts (Gavin AA chart). This success led to other CDs that allowed Traum to explore acoustic guitar work and instrumental music.  In 1999 Traum released Meetings With Remarkable Friends, featuring collaborative tracks with Bela Fleck and Sam Bush, John Sebastian, Tony Levin, Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, The Band, Adrian Belew and many others. Meetings was awarded Best Acoustic Instrumental Album of 1999 by the NAV Awards and has been described as a “classic.”

Thanks to Craig Rosen at Number1Albums for the link.