 Treasures Left Behind: Remembering Kate Wolf is a collection of Kate's songs performed by the artists she touched. Each performance is superlative, from Lucinda Williams' bittersweet take on "Here in California" to the tongue-in-cheek grit of Greg Brown and Ferron's duet of "Tequila and Me." Some of the performers on this recording, like Utah Phillips and Nina Gerber, were Kate's close friends and their work influenced each other's in intricate ways. Some of the aritsts never knew Kate, but as Dave Alvin writes in the liner notes, she knew them: "I don't know much about Kate Wolf's life and loves but in a few raw and tender lines, she sure knew a lot about mine." Her songs were direct, honest, and never sentimental, and they had a universal quality such that anyone could hear their own stories in her clear voice. Her subjects were the people, valleys, hills, and seashores of Northern California, and she understood the intricate connection between people and their landscape. Kate's songs come alive on Treasures Left Behind, and the different voices and interpretations bring hom their timelessness and their truth.
Kate passed away from leukemia in 1986. She was a singer-songwriter whose influence continues to reverberate through folk and country music today. Her legecy is carried on every June at the Kate Wolf Festival in Sebastopol, CA that features performers who have been influenced by her music.
Part of the proceeds for Treasures Left Behind. go to the Seva Foundation. The foundation honors modern science and technology, as well as the traditional wisdom of indigenous peoples, by working with both modern surgeons and healers in the developing world, sharing technology, traditions, and training. |
