During the last two decades, a new breed of American virtuoso musicians have developed primarily instrumental music with roots in bluegrass, country, Celtic and blues. Some call it new acoustic, others newgrass. Mike Marshall is one of the most prolific and creative of that generation. He is now recording for the Adventure Music label, which has released the latest Psychograss CD, Now Hear This (Adventure Music AM1017 2, 2005) and Brazil Duets, an album of stimulating duets featuring Marshall alongside top of the line American and Brazilian musicians.
Psychograss is a now legendary American roots band, which draws inspiration from bluegrass. It includes five leading instrumentalists: Darol Angel (violin), Mike Marshall (mandolin), David Grier (guitar), Todd Phillips (acoustic bass) and Tony Trishka (banjo).
The Brazil Duets recording is dedicated to Choro music from Brazil. Choro is anbinstrumental style that is growing in popularity inside and outside Brazil. For this project, Mike Marshall collaborates with an impressive list of musicians: Bela Fleck (banjo), Edgar Meyer (bass), Andy Narell (piano), Kaila Flexer (violin), Michael Manring (electric bass), Jovino Santos Neto (piano), Andy Connell (saxophone) and Jackie Rago (cuatro).
Darol Anger & Mike Marshall – The Duo
For a taste of Mike Marshall’s earlier works, Rounder Records has reissued The Duo (Rounder Records, 2005), with Darol Anger & Mike Marshall. Violinist Darol Anger and mandolinist Mike Marshall were pioneers of the New Acoustic Music movement, which brought folk, jazz, bluegrass and world music influences together in an instrumental acoustic setting. Their groundbreaking 1983 album The Duo, highlights their virtuosity and creativity.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
