IN LATE 1976, I CAME ACROSS a new album by Tony Rice. Being new to bluegrass and acoustic music, I was unfamiliar with Tony's music, but had heard from a friend that he was great. The album was "Tony Rice", his first Rounder Records release. Listening to the first cut, I was impressed, to say the least. But it was cut two that blew me away. It was a tune titled "Rattlesnake", and featured David Grisman. This was the first time I had heard the mandolin where I paid any attention to the instrument. David got my attention! I was Dawg bit!
In early '77, I bought "The David Grisman Quintet", the first DGQ album. After almost 20 years, this album sounds as fresh and exciting as the day I bought it. Although I have never met David, I have had the pleasure many times of seeing the various incarnations of his group perform at The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, the Grass Valley Bluegrass Festival, the Strawberry Bluegrass Festival, and the Paul Masson Winery. Although his group has changed personnel over the years, and he has continued to evolve his music, he has stayed true to his music. His recent work is not to be missed, especially his loving production of the two Tone Poems recordings. What a concept! David has not only provided us with amazing and inspiring music, but has generously given his time in workshops to teach and encourage others, as well as so generously permitting MandoZine to publish his material. In fact, he has been given his own DawgTab category in the Tablature section. Each month, new material will be uploaded for your enjoyment. Thanks David!
Twenty years later, I am still a fan, and am pleased to feature David as the profile artist for the premiere upload of MandoZine.
IT ALL BEGAN IN HUMBLE Hackensack, New Jersey on March 23,1945. David was born into a musical family, his father played trombone and his mother played the piano. At seven David took up the piano and began a musical odyssey that continues to this day. In the early sixties folk music was everywhere. David became interested and started, with two of his friends, a folk music club at his high school. Through the club's advisor, David met mandolinist-folklorist Ralph Rinzler who in turn introduced him to bluegrass music, Bill Monroe, and the mandolin. Through his teens David progressed on the mandolin and took it upon himself to seek out the great mandolin players to learn about the music from them first hand. A pilgrimage in 1963 led him to Washington, D.C. and Frank Wakefield. Frank took David under his musical wing and taught him about bluegrass, about Bill Monroe. Frank has always been on the creative if not avant-garde edge of bluegrass and he must have instilled some of this energy in the young Grisman. In both there is a reverence of Monroe, each owes a great debt musically to him. Both Grisman and Wakefield went through periods of intense Monroe imitation to ultimately create new mandolin styles, Grisman with ensemble settings, Wakefield with solo pieces. David's first composition, Cedar Hill, was based on the chord changes of Wakefield's Leave Well Enough Alone, which was Wakefield's 'modern' bluegrass song from the fifties, combining an innovative II minor chord in a three chord format. David's subsequent compositions incorporated ideas from outside the bluegrass genre.
David's first recording experience was provided by The Even Dozen Jug Band. From there he went on to become involved in producing bluegrass records. He eventually recorded and toured with bluegrass guitarist-singer Red Allen. David continued writing non-bluegrass mandolin pieces.
In 1967 David teamed up with Monroe alumnist Peter Rowan to create the rock group Earth Opera. David was featured on electric mando-cello. After Earth Opera, he persued basically acoustic mandolin once again and began playing as a session musician ultimately appearing on nearly fifty albums from James Taylor to the Grateful Dead. He found few outlets for his own compositions until the part electric, part acoustic band Muleskinner formed in 1972 with David, Peter Rowan on rhythm guitar & vocals, Richard Greene on violin, Bill Keith on banjo and pedal steel, and the late Clarence White on lead guitar. From this union of bluegrass refugees came one album and the first recorded version of a Grisman tune, Opus 57. After Muleskinner came Old and in the Way, again with Grisman and Rowan, Vassar Clements on violin, Jerry Garcia on banjo. and John Kahn on bass. The band played sporadically and released one album, after the group had officially broken up. It was basically a bluegrass band, more appropriately though it might have been called a newgrass band as it featured new music presented in a bluegrass vein. And now, in 1996, we get to hear Old and In the Way again. An old sound, still new in it's energy, spontaneity, awesome music.
Things finally began to get serious with The Great American Music Band, the precursor to the David Grisman Quintet. Relying chiefly on instrumentals drawn from bluegrass. jazz, and most importantly, David's own pieces, the band included Richard Greene on violin, bassist Joe Carroll, guitarist John Carlini, and Ellen Kearney on vocals and guitar. The Great American Music Band never recorded and was relatively short lived. David did keep writing and polishing his compositions with various members of the band and continued his session work.
In 1975, David met Todd Phillips and the two began working on David's compositions with two mandolins. Soon Tony Rice joined on guitar along with Darol Anger on violin. Joe Carroll rounded out The David Grisman Quintet on bass. Together they rehearsed for months without playing publicly. Their initial public appearances were met with awe; the music was more involved and arrangements more inspired than anyone had expected. Finally, it wasn't bluegrass, it was Grisman, it was Dawg music.
Their first album on the California-based Kaleidoscope label almost single-handedly launched what is now called "new-acoustic music," and which Grisman christened "dawg" music. Grisman soon moved to A&M and then to Warner Brothers Records. Later versions of his Quintet have featured mandolinist Mike Marshall and Mark O'Connor. He has also recorded with Stephane Grappelli, Svend Asmussen, Daniel Kobialka, and a number of major artists.
Much of David's success owes to his perfectionism and hard work. An equal share of the credit must go to the incredibly supportive bands he has fronted over the years. He has found in them a unique opportunity to hone his handiwork and make it perfect. The years with Mike Marshall, Rob Wasserman, and Mark O'Connor yielded some of his best work. David has recorded with a big band, written film scores, and in essence, taken the mandolin into new territory that continues to suprise and delight.
If there could be one overriding reason for the richness and creativity of David's work, it must have to do with his wide open attitude about music. He sought out everything from Bach to bluegrass to Beatles and learned from it all. He let the music affect him, refusing to be a musical snob. It was all music to him and he let himself see the beauty of it all. Beyond this is his total dedication to sound. The playing itself could always be technically perfect, but if the tone wasn't right, if the feel of the sound was flawed, even slightly, the music was virtually worthless.
David has continued to evolve and experiement with musical styles. His Acoustic Disc label has set a standard for recording and inventiveness that has not been equaled in the acoustic field. Producing such diverse projects as Jacob do Bandolim, Radim Zenkl, duets with Jerry Garcia and Tony Rice, and his historic reissues, David has established himself as a major producer. His new releases are anticipated with eagerness, and never disappoint.
The current Grisman quintet features fiddler Joe Craven, flutist Matt Eakle, guitarist Enrique Coria, and bassist Jim Kirwin.
