Chris Thile, the Mandolin, and Bach

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BarkellWH

Posts: 3458
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC

Chris Thile, the Mandolin, and Bach

Monday evening, the Public Broadcasting program "PBS News Hour" ended with a segment on Chris Thile, the super-accomplished mandolin player who started playing with the band Nickel Creek, continued in bluegrass, cut an album with Yo Yo Ma called "Goat Rodeo Sessions" that won a grammy award, was awarded a MacArthur Genius award in 2012, and is coming out with an album playing Bach on the Mandolin. The man knows no barriers in music.

When the MacArthur Foundation awarded Thile a "genius grant" in 2012, the organization cited his creation of a "distinctly American canon for the mandolin and a new musical aesthetic for performers and audiences alike." On the PBS News Hour Thile called Bach "the greatest musician who ever lived." Chris Thile is a musical genius. Can't wait to listen to his Bach album.

Cheers,

Bill

_____________________________

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With the name of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here,
Who tried to hustle the East."

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 6 2013 0:26:17

Pablito

Posts: 56
Joined: Sep. 27 2009
From: Long Island NY

RE: Chris Thile, the Mandolin, and Bach (in reply to BarkellWH)

Chris Thile is such a pleasure to listen to. If flamenco didn't exist, bluegrass would be my thing. I'm just spread too thin as it is haha.

Would love to hear Thile and Victor Wooten do a thing

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 6 2013 0:38:19

guitarbuddha

Posts: 2970
Joined: Jan. 4 2007

RE: Chris Thile, the Mandolin, and Bach (in reply to BarkellWH)

quote:

ORIGINAL: BarkellWH

On the PBS News Hour Thile called Bach "the greatest musician who ever lived." Chris Thile is a musical genius. Can't wait to listen to his Bach album.

Cheers,

Bill

He has already recorded a fair bit of Bach with the equally talented accomplished and more experienced Mike Marshall.

Mike has being doing this kind of thing for years but never seemed to get the kind of PR machine behind him to which 'apparently' pop musicians have access.

Translation of Bach violin sonatas to mandolin requires no change in LH fingering as the tuning is identical. Not really the groundbreaking work that is being claimed.

Vivaldi wrote a few mandolin concerti, so nothing new there either.

Tony Trischka and Bela Fleck were recording and performing Bach in the eighties.

Anyway I don't mean to take anything away from Thile, just think the credit should be spread around a little more evenly. Marketing machines sell us a narrative that is not really illustrative of historical fact.

Here is Mike Marshall in a great jam with Darol Anger.

Chaconne on mandolin, and this guys definately got a stronger right hand than Thile, he was born in 1912 apparently (and Malmsteen invented sweep picking

)

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 6 2013 14:46:48

guitarbuddha

Posts: 2970
Joined: Jan. 4 2007

RE: Chris Thile, the Mandolin, and Bach (in reply to Pablito)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Pablito

Chris Thile is such a pleasure to listen to. If flamenco didn't exist, bluegrass would be my thing. I'm just spread too thin as it is haha.

Would love to hear Thile and Victor Wooten do a thing

You know I would definitely give Thile and Wooten a listen.

I guess I might have come across as mean spirited earlier, sorry Bill. But I will definitely be listening to the Bach album and am in all honesty pretty confidant that I will enjoy it.

Anyway here is a site with about five Thile concerts for fans.

http://www.woodsongs.com/showlist.asp

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 8 2013 23:40:40