|
David Grisman–
Who Let The Dawg Out?
by Benjy Eisen
You have heard David Grisman play music before, even if you have no idea
who he is. His unmistakable mandolin playing has graced songs like
“Ripple” and “Friend Of The Devil” by the Grateful Dead, and he appears on
over 100 recordings ranging from the obvious collaborations (James Taylor,
Bonnie Rait) to the more unexpected (Chris Isaak, Pointer Sisters).
 Much
like his friends and contemporaries — Jerry Garcia, Doc Watson, Bela Fleck
— David Grisman has not only mastered his respective instrument, but has
also pioneered a style of playing it. Named flippantly after a nickname
Jerry Garcia gave him, “dawg” music is a mutt–worthy mixed breed of
bluegrass, jazz, swing, Latin and gypsy with trace elements of any number
of other musical styles. All performed acoustically. It is a genre of
music Grisman has been defining and refining over the last 25 years,
pre-dating back to 1973 when he and Jerry Garcia formed the group Old And
In The Way with Vassar Clements, Peter Rowan and John Kahn. Their
self-titled debut album continues to be one of the most successful
bluegrass recordings of all time.
In 1976, Grisman formed The David Grisman Quintet after meeting up with
guitarist Tony Rice, and dawg music was officially born. As dawg music
evolved, and continues to evolve, Grisman is careful to maintain the
integrity associated with acoustic string instrumentation, both with
traditional and experimental approaches. In 1990 he founded his own record
label, Acoustic Disc, with the motto “100% Handmade Music.”
While he continues to put out archival releases such as Jerry Garcia /
David Grisman collaborations and Old & In The Way recordings, Grisman
still pushes dawg music in ever new directions with his Quintet. In its
25-year history, the David Grisman Quintet has included such esteemed
alumni as Mark O’Connor, Mike Marshall and David Anger. The current
line-up features Jim Kerwin (bass), Matt Eakle (flute), Joe Craven
(percussion, violin) and Enrique Coria (guitar).
The David Grisman Quintet will perform at The Whitaker Center in
Harrisburg on July 19. For tickets, call 214-ARTS.
MODE
Weekly:
How much of the set is improvised? What about the setlist itself?
David Grisman:
All of our sets now are improvised. We stopped using a set list a while
back. We try to go as many shows as we can without much repetition. But,
you may hear favorites like "E.M.D." or "Grateful Dawg" from night to
night.
we don't play ten nights in a row so it's all kept pretty fresh.
MODE:
How likely are you to take requests, when someone in the audience yells
for one?
Grisman:
The right request at the right
time could very well be honored.
MODE:
How much touring do you do these days and how does it compare to the
studio, for you?
Grisman:
Our touring schedule is pretty
consistent. We usually play a bunch of
festivals during the summer. We played Merlefest and SmileFest already in
North Carolina and will be playing Grey Fox in NY and RockyGrass in
Colorado
too. The DGQ takes the first part of the winter off and that's when I'm in
my studio working on the several releases that Acoustic Disc will put out
for the upcoming year. The studio is a completely different environment
than
playing live, but as a producer, I love working in the studio.
MODE:
What's next for David Grisman?
Grisman:
We've just released two jazz
records on Acoustic Disc. One is with me and jazz pianist Denny Zeitlin
who is a friend of mine from here in Marin
County. It's called New River and is all piano and mandolin duets. The
other
is a wonderful recording of acoustic gypsy guitar solos by the highly
regarded NY jazz guitarist Frank Vignola. He plays regularly with Les
Paul
and Mark O'Connor and he's the type of artist that I am honored to have on
our label.
And the movie is the next big step. My daughter Gillian is a filmmaker in
NY and she's put together a documentary on the musical kinship between
Jerry
Garcia and myself. It's called Grateful Dawg and will be released by Sony
Pictures Classics in early October. It features live performances of the
Garcia / Grisman band from the Warfield Theater in San Franciso and from
our
reunion gig at the Sweetwater in Mill Valley. And there's some great
interviews in it and some studio and living room footage that I think
folks
will enjoy seeing. Acoustic Disc will be releasing the Soundtrack to it in
September.
|
147x50.gif)