Biography
Charles Sawtelle helped establish the bluegrass ensemble Hot Rize during the 1970s and remained a member for roughly twelve years. The guitarist and producer, known to many as “the Bluegrass Mystery,” was developing material for a solo project when leukemia ended his life in 1999. Vocalist and fiddler Laurie Lewis, a longtime associate, took on production duties for that debut solo recording. After Sawtelle’s death she completed the work by enlisting contributions from an extensive circle of musician friends that included Peter Rowan, Michael Doucet, and David Grisman. Acoustic Disc issued the finished collection in 2001 under the title Music From Rancho DeVille, a name that alluded both to Sawtelle’s affection for Cadillacs—particularly his 1958 Coupe deVille—and to the stone building near Boulder, Colorado, that housed his studio and had once served as a house of ill repute. Among the tracks are numbers long associated with Ralph Stanley, Lefty Frizzell, and Woody Guthrie, together with the Cajun-flavored pieces “Jolie Faye” and “Chez Seychelles.” The accompanying booklet offers a concise yet moving tribute assembled by those closest to him, incorporating personal recollections, photographs, and a biographical essay written by Pete Wernick of Hot Rize. Outside their primary band, Sawtelle joined Wernick, Nick Forster, and Tim O’Brien in the side project Red Knuckles & the Trail Blazers, assuming the stage identity of the hard-core country performer Slade. Following Hot Rize’s dissolution he assembled and directed the Whippets, and he also collaborated on tours and recordings with Rowan. His earliest professional affiliation began in 1976 with the Drifting Ramblers.
Albums