Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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GRISMAN, David

(b '45, Hackensack NJ) Mandolinist; also other instruments, composer, leader. Played in Even Dozen Jug Band with Maria Muldaur and John Sebastian; met Jerry Garcia in San Francisco scene mid-'60s; to Boston to form rock band with Peter Rowan, who had a bluegrass background; Earth Opera '67--9 was a noble attempt at a fashionable rock band (Grisman played sax). Records on Elektra incl. minor hits 'Home To You', LP The Great American Eagle Tragedy, both '69. They split, both sessioned, came together again '73 with Garcia in Old And In The Way (see Grateful Dead; Garcia's ad hoc group also incl. Vassar Clements). Grisman and Rowan formed Muleskinner with fiddler Richard Greene; Grisman and Greene formed the Great American Music Band (Taj Mahal played bass); Grisman did film work; formed string-band David Grisman Quintet '77: debut LP on Kaleidoscope represents 'newgrass', but Grisman is tired of labels, calls it 'dawg music'. Hot Dawg '79 on Horizon label (now on A&M) incl. Grisman compositions, Stephane Grappelli tune 'Minor Swing' from his Django Reinhardt days. David Grisman Quintet '80 and Mondo Mando '81 both made Billboard LP chart, as did Live '81, Grisman/Grappelli duet album. Grisman also published Mandolin World News, with other group members contributing. Other albums incl. Rounder Album, Mandolin Abstractions (with Andy Statman), Acoustic Christmas, Here Today (with Herb Pederson), all on Rounder; Swingin' With Svend (Asmussen) and Acousticity on MCA; two volumes of Tone Poems plus Songs Of Our Fathers, Dawg, Dawgwood and Dawganova, all on Acoustic Disc since '90; also Early Dawg on Sugar Hill, etc. You can't have too much good picking.