Who do I listen to?

[frogbiscuit]

Being new to the mandolin, who do you recommend I listen to. I'm not a huge bluegrass fan (actually a blues guitar player) but I love the sound of the mando.
Give me some ideas as to who is worth listening to.

Thanks.

[grandmainger]

I'm not a big bluegrass fan either, and I don't have that many mandolin CDs, but I think you should get:

- Co-Mando Session Vol 3 (http://www.midcontinentmusic.com/detail.cfm?Catalogid=1581) and Co-Mando Session Vol 2 (http://www.midcontinentmusic.com/detail.cfm?Catalogid=474) #which are a super low price double CDs ($11 & $6 respectively) with an amazing variety of styles on them.
- Chris Thile's "Not all who wander are lost"

These are the discs I listen more otfen that any other, and the ones that make me dream about becoming a good player http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Also, you may want to check out a thread I started a while back, asking for similar music recommendations (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=12;t=17850)...

HTH

Germain

[dtb]

IMO, if you're not a big bluegrass fan, then I would have a hard time recommending anyone. Other than that, I would listen to any, and all bluegrass, that's out there. There's so many "new" bands that are getting their respect now. Mountain Heart, comes to mind, Rhonda Vincent, who I will see Friday night at our county fair, and I would really check out any Tim O'Brien. The list can go on and on. I myself, well, the master, David Grisman since day one.

[Frank Russell]

Bluegrass Mandolin Extravaganza, on Acoustic Disc. It's a two-disc set with Grisman, Ronnie McCoury, Skaggs, Wakefield, Jesse McReynolds, Buck White, an Osbourne, and Del playing all the guitar backup. Good selection of fast tunes and waltzes all mixed in. After that for my #1 mando disc choice, I would try anything with Mike Compton. Frank

[JiminRussia]

You may want to get some of Grismans recordings, especially the stuff that he did with Stephane Grapeli. The other thing that I would encourage you to do is listen to yourself. No, I'm not kidding. Get some means of recording yourself and listen to your practice tracks. It is much easier to hear you little bobbles ad mistakes, especially the timing errors when you aren't playing and can really hear what you have done.

[adgefan]

My recommendation would be Chris Thile's "Not All Who Wander Are Lost". A masterpiece in my opinion, and the CD that made me start playing mando.

I'm still a relative newbie myself, and learning who's who. I'm currently getting into Tim O'Brien and Bill Monroe.

There's such a wealth of talent out there you'll find it hard to listen to everything you want to, but the challenge is fun http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[mikeomando]

For blues mandolin, you want to at least be aware of the late great Yank Rachel. There is also a nice old timey/blues compilation CD called "Rags, Breakdowns, Stomps & Blues" Vintage mandolin Music 1927-1946 on Document. It has some good stuff on it. If you like jazz mando, anything by Paul Glasse. David Grisman has some great jazzy discs. Sam Bush "Peaks of Telluride". Sam Bush and David Grisman "Hold on we're Strummin'". REM went through a period where Peter Buck played a lot of mando. The Replacement's song "I will Dare". The Dbs' song "Bonneville".

[mikeomando]

Oh yeah, anpther great blues mando player is Johnny Young.

[steve in tampa]

Jethro Burns. The two albums on the Acoustic Disc label. Just Jethro and Steinberg.

[Ted Eschliman]

...and more recommended jazz mandolin recordings (http://members.aol.com/teesch/Recordings.html).

[sbarnes]

at david grisman's site
www.acousticdisc.com
you can listen to cuts from the available cd's before you order them.....

[mikeomando]

Nice page, Mandohack!

[Mark53]

If you are a Blues guitarist (so am I ), listen to Yank Rachell, the great Blues mandolinist. You can find him on some of Mississippi John Hurt's CDs as will as his own.

Also get the Homespun DVD "Blues Mandolin" by Steve James. I think that is what you are looking for.

Bluegrass (like Blues), is an aquired taste. I am still in the process. But I must say that I love Rhonda Vincent, Ronnie Renno and the master Bill Monroe.

You and I are in the same boat. Good luck

[danadug]

Hey, Listen to Sam Bush. ( I know someone already mentioned this. I am reiterating) He's utterly amazing and you may change your mind about bluegrass. this is very rockin' and inspiring besides.

[kvk]

Even if you are not a BG fan (I'm a BG fan but not a BG nut), you might want to give Bill Monroe a listen. After listinging mando music for a couple years and (trying to) play for a year, I picked up a Big Mon Anthology (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00008WI8K/104-7757248-9071150?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance)

It's unbelievable how archetypical Bill Monroe is. You listen to it and all of a sudden lots of other mando music you've heard over the years makes more sense. I still can't play it and may never will but at least it is starting to make sense in the gray matter.

[Keith Wallen]

Hey, Listen to Sam Bush. ( I know someone already mentioned this. I am reiterating) He's utterly amazing and you may change your mind about bluegrass. this is very rockin' and inspiring besides.
Right on! Listen to NGR (New Grass Revival) They are not together anymore but I am guessing you will love it. Sam use to be the leader of this band.

[Dan Cole]

For variety Grisman is the best for Kletzmer, Bluegrass, Jazz and folk. Grisman's Tone Poems I & II are must haves as is the David Grisman Quintet. The Jethro Burns stuff on acoustic disc is great alos.

Go to his site and sample various tracks

[Mandodoc]

Not Bluegrass (really):
Sam Bush "Late as Usual" and "Howling at the Moon" and "King of my World", Johnny Staats "Wires and Wood", David Grisman and Jerry Garcia "Pizza Tapes" and "Shady Grove" and "Grateful Dawg", Emory Lester "Pale Rider", John Reischman, Robin Bullock, Butch Baldassari "The Travellers", John Reischman "Up in the Woods"
That is a short list off the top of my head.
jon

[JeffS]

Peter Ostroushko has a great old world sound and he plays other styles too. I personally like his Sluz Duz CD the best but I only have it an his latest one, which is mostly fiddle. I bought an Evan Marshal CD, well downloaded it from iTunes. It was a nice arrangement of mandolin music.

[PaulD]

Well... folks have mentioned David Grisman to DEATH... which is who got me started down this long, slippery slope with his Hot Dawg tour. In addition to the Hot Dawg CD, I would second some of the Grisman/Garcia votes... Shady Grove, the first Grisman/Garcia, etc. Grisman seems to favor a kinda bluesy minor-modal sound. I am also a big fan of Mike Marshall who toured with Grisman for the Mondo Mando album. You can find him with Darol Anger (arguably one of the best fiddler's alive) with the old jazz band Montreux, or Modern Mandolin Quartet (kinda jazzy-classical-new world... mandolin overload). Joe Craven, who's been with Grisman for the last 15 years or so is another amazing musician, whether it's on mando, fiddle, percussion, etc.

Peter Rowan's newer stuff strays from traditional bluegrass and has some nice mandolin work either by him or other mando players he's had in his bands. Besides, his songwriting is phenomenal.

Lastly, I'm going to plug my favorite new CD by a band called Wayfaring Strangers; "Shifting Sands of Time". If you have eclectic tastes (as in; if a fusion of jazz, bluegrass, and klezmer sounds appealing), this album is out of this world. Great mandolin by John McGann and Andy Statman, fiddle by Matt Glaser, great jazz piano, jazz banjo, and incredible vocals/harmonies.

I could probably go on, but this post is already long! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[mad dawg]

Since you are not into a specific genre of mando music, you might want to purchase a variety of mando-centric CDs to see what flips your switch. I have a feeling you will get some good guidance for various genres from this thread, but I have a few favorites from my collection that I find inspiring:

Shooglenifty's "A Whisky Kiss": sort of trad-inspired modern Celtic folk/rock/jazz fusion (at the time, they billed their music as hyponofolkadelic); this CD inspired me to buy a mandolin in the first place.

Dave Grisman's "Hot Dawg": if I wasn't heavily into electric bass and playing garage rock when I first heard this back in the late 70's, I probably would have bought a mandolin then!

Steve Earle and the Del McRoury Band's "The Mountain": a great CD featuring cross-over artist Steve Earle with "the best band in Bluegrass".

Bluegrass Mandolin Extravaganza (already described in another post above).

Emma Gibbs Band's "To the Country": sort of BG meets Jam Grass meets Alt.country (its not widely distributed, but PasteMagazine.com carries it).

Thile's "Not all who wander", and the first Nickel Creek CD: both cross-genre offerings featuring a lot of mando solos.

Vivaldi's concertos for mandolins and other plucked strings: wonderful stuff, some of which you will likely recognize even if you aren't very familiar with Vivaldi.

Traditional Celtic recordings by fellow mandolincafe regulars Dagger Gordon, Kevin MacLeod, and Dan Beimborn all offer great examples of Celtic mandolin.

Also, you can go to mandolincafe's MP3 page and spend all sorts of time downloading and listening to a large variety of mandolin music, from Jazz to Celtic to Bluegrass and beyond: http://www.mandolincafe.com/mp3/

[Colin Irvine]

Simon Mayor.

[frogbiscuit]

Thanks for all your suggestions!

[Wando]

Definitely check out Matt Flinner, Jazz Mandolin Project, Paul Glasse. #I got into bluegrass big time after I bought my first mando (I play bass in a blues band). #Enjoy!

[mandomick]

Being new to the mandolin, who do you recommend I listen to. I'm not a huge bluegrass fan (actually a blues guitar player) but I love the sound of the mando.
Give me some ideas as to who is worth listening to.

Thanks.
I've found that listening to horn players and especially horn sections gives me a lot of ideas for licks and phrases while playing I, IV, V type stuff.

David Bromberg's horn players on "How late'll you play 'till" are a great place to start. And in my opinion, the more fat, ringing open strings you can sneak in, the better!

[Philip Halcomb]

I you love the blues as mentioned already Yank Rachell will give you a great starting point.