Summary: This week, oldtime, bluegrass, and psychograss pioneers Darol Anger & Mike Marshall recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with these legendary instrumentalists. Mark Jones offers an archival recording of Ozark originals Bob & Kay Blair performing the traditional song “Red Green.” Fiddler, composer, producer and educator, Darol Anger is at home in a number of musical genres, some of which he helped to invent. Exceptional among modern fiddlers for his versatility and depth, 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, his Duo with Mike Marshall, and others. He has performed and taught all over the world with musicians such as Dr. Billy Taylor, Bela Fleck, Bill Evans, Edgar Meyer, Bill Frisell, David Grisman, Tony Rice, Tim O’Brien, The Anonymous 4, Marin Alsop and the Cabrillo Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, Mark O’Connor, and Stephane Grappelli. Today Darol can be heard on NPR’s “Car Talk” theme every week, along with Earl Scruggs, David Grisman and Tony Rice. He was also the violinist on the phenomenally popular Sim City computer games. In addition to performing all over the world, he has recorded and produced scores of important recordings since 1977, is a MacDowell and UCross Fellow, and has received numerous composers’ residencies and grants. He has been a featured soloist on dozens of recordings and motion picture soundtracks. He is an Associate Professor at the Berklee School of music. Mike Marshall made his Carnegie Hall debut at the age of 20 with jazz violin legend Stephane Grappelli as a member of the David Grisman Quartet. In 1985 he would perform in that famed hall with his own classical ensemble The Modern Mandolin Quartet in 1985. Mike has been at the forefront of New Acoustic music for over 40 years having been the founding member of many groups including the Montreux Band, Psychograss, Choro Famoso and The Anger Marshall Band. Between 1999 and 2003 Mike collaborated with Joshua Bell, Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck and Sam Bush on two separate projects. These groups toured the U.S.A. extensively and performed at the Aspen Music Festival, San Francisco Performances and Chamber Music at Lincoln Center, NY. Both ensembles were nominated for Grammy Awards for their Sony Classical releases. In 2014 Mike was nominated for his third Grammy Award for his recording with the Turtle Island Quartet. Currently Mike is touring with German mandolin virtuoso Caterina Lichtenberg. The two have released two cds on the Adventure Music label and have performed at the Carmel Bach Festival, The Savannah Music Festival, the Bach Haus Liepzig, Germany and the Rockygrass Bluegrass Festival in Colorado and have been soloists with the New Century Orchestra under Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and Orchester l’arte del mondo from Cologne, Germany. He currently directs the Mike Marshall School of Mandolin through the ArtistWorks on-line educational company where he is teaching hundreds of mandolinists from around the world. Mike splits his time currently between his home in San Francisco, CA and Wuppertal, Germany where his wife, Caterina Lichtenberg holds the position of mandolin professor at the Cologne Music Conservatory. In this week’s “From the Vault” segment, musician, educator, and country music legacy Mark Jones offers an archival recording of Ozark originals Bob & Kay Blair performing the traditional song “Red Green,” from the Ozark Folk Center State Park archives.
