There is a new way of thinking about acoustic string-band music in America today, and at the heart of much of that creativity has been multi-instrumentalist Mike Marshall. A master of mandolin, mandocello, guitar and violin, Mike represents a new breed of musician, creating his own music while feeling equally comfortable whether playing jazz, classical music, traditional American or Latin styles. Mike grew up in Central Florida where he studied traditional American music on a variety of string instruments. At the age of 19, he was asked to move to San Francisco, CA to join the David Grisman Quintet. That experience launched his career and led to several tours and recording projects with Stephane Grappelli, Mark O'Connor, Darol Anger, Tony Rice, Bela Fleck and Jerry Douglas throughout the late 70s and early 80s. Mike’s 35 year career has continued along this path and he has gone on to create some of the most important and innovative acoustic music in America today. His partnership with Edgar Meyer led to two Grammy nominated Sony Classical recordings with violinist Joshua Bell, mandolinist Sam Bush and banjo player Bela Fleck. Mike has always kept the mandolin at the forefront of most of his music making and he has collaborated with some of the best in the world. His recordings with Chris Thile (U.S), Hamilton De Holand (Brazil) and most recently Caterina Lichtenberg (Germany) show the breadth and depth of Mike's commitment to this instrument and each of these CDs has set a new standard of mandolin playing. In 1995, Mike began his love affair with Brazilian music which resulted in the creation of his own label Adventure Music. To date, the label has released over 30 CDs including Mike's work with pianist Jovino Santos Neto his own group Choro Famoso. His recordings with long time partner Darol Anger (violin) have pointed the way for a whole new generation of string-band music. In 2005 the two collaborated with the Swedish group Vasen in a recording project and CD and they have been touring each year since. Darol and Mike are also members of the super group string-band Psychograss with David Grier (guitar), Tony Trischka (banjo), and Todd Phillips (bass). You may have been hearing Mike and not known it. On radio Mike can be heard on the "Car Talk" soundtrack alongside Earl Scruggs as well as on San Francisco’s KQED talk-show "Forum" where Mike wrote the theme music. In addition to touring in at least 6 different musical projects throughout the year and producing a wide variety of musical projects, Mike still finds time to pursue his real passion which is cooking. He is known as one the best in the music world when in front of a stove.
Raves and Reviews - Mike Marshall
Darol Anger/Mike Marshall Live on Open Air 1/20 |
On Friday, January 20th at 1pm, JPR welcomes Darol Anger and Mike Marshall into the studio for a live session on Open Air.
When speaking about Darol Anger and Mike Marshall's live performances, people often use phrases like "synergy," "breathtaking" or "space travelers." Darol and Mike have created their own way of speaking – through their instruments. They share an aesthetic approach developed over 35 years of making music together, drawing upon myriad styles from classical and jazz to rock, bluegrass and world music.Exceptional among modern fiddlers for his versatility and depth, Darol Anger has helped drive the evolution of the contemporary string band through his involvement with numerous pathbreaking ensembles such as his Republic Of Strings, the Turtle Island String Quartet, the David Grisman Quintet, Montreux, the Duo and other ensembles. And public radio listeners can hear him on NPR's "Car Talk" theme every week, along with Earl Scruggs, David Grisman and Tony Rice. Mike Marshall is a virtuosic mandolin player and multi-instrumentalist who has been a part of New Acoustic Music since the early 1980s. In addition to several instruments within the mandolin family, Marshall also plays the guitar and violin. Marshall's strength in classical music led to his co-founding in 1986 of the Modern Mandolin Quartet, a string quartet of mandolin family instruments. Recently he began teaching mandolin online at the School of Mandolin, as part of the Academy of Bluegrass.
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| Jefferson Public Radio |
Introducing "From the Stacks": Pico's 2010 Stacks, Volume 1 |
Mike Marshall An Adventure 1999-2009: This is a compilation of some highlight tracks from Marshall's albums released under Adventure Music, a label he co-founded in the late 1990's. Going agaist the grain, the track sequence goes in reverse chronological order, which means two cuts from last year's Mike Marshall's Big Trio begin the collection. It works back to collaborations with Darol Anger, Jovino Santos Neto and Bela Fleck. The common denominator, naturally, is Mike Marshall's mandolin, mandocello and acoustic six-string guitar. As arguably the world's foremost mandolin/mandocello player, you get to hear some amazing performances, but also some richly melodic tunes that range from bluegrass and European folk to jazz and Brazilian fusion. With Marshall in a variety of settings playing alongside a parade of musicians who are just as virtuosic on their own instruments, An Adventure makes a logical starting point to start your own adventure exploring the music of Marshall. http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=70043 |
| Pico, All About Jazz |
Date |
Venue |
Location |
| 06/22/2012 | Telluride Bluegrass Festival | Telluride, CO |
| 07/14/2012 - 07/15/2012 | Festival Mozaic | San Luis Obispo, CA |
| 07/18/2012 - 07/26/2012 | Carmel Bach Festival | Carmel, CA |
| 08/05/2012 - 08/11/2012 | Swannanoa Gathering | Swannanoa, NC |
