Jeff Austin (April 25, 1974 – June 24, 2019) was an American mandolinist and

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

best known for being a founding member of the

Yonder Mountain String Band The Yonder Mountain String Band is an American progressive bluegrass group from Nederland, Colorado. Composed of Dave Johnston, Ben Kaufmann, Adam Aijala, and Nick Piccininni, the band has released five studio albums and several live recordings ...

Biography

Although Austin was born in Arlington Heights, Illinois, United States, he grew up in

Elk Grove Village, Illinois Elk Grove Village is a village in Cook and DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 32,812. Located northwest of Chicago along the Golden Corridor, the Village of Elk Grove Village was incorpor ...

and attended Rolling Meadows High School. Austin attended the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

, but soon made his way to

Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the 38th-most populous municipality in Illinois. It ...

, where he met future banjoist Dave Johnston. Receiving a request from Johnston to perform in his band The Bluegrassholes, Austin picked up the mandolin for the first time. After some time, Austin moved to

Nederland, Colorado Nederland (, ) is a statutory town located near Barker Meadow Reservoir in the foothills of southwest Boulder County, Colorado, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census it had a population of 1,445. History Nederland was established in ...

; Johnston, after seeking improvement in his playing ability, also moved to Nederland. While attending a club called the Verve, Austin met Adam Aijala and

Ben Kaufmann The Yonder Mountain String Band is an American progressive bluegrass group from Nederland, Colorado. Composed of Dave Johnston, Ben Kaufmann, Adam Aijala, and Nick Piccininni, the band has released five studio albums and several live recordings t ...

, with whom he and Johnston would form the

(YMSB) in 1998. In late 2013, Austin announced that he would be taking a leave of absence from YMSB due to the pending birth of his daughter. On April 23, 2014, the band announced an amicable parting of ways with Austin, citing creative differences and conflicting career goals. In 2014, Austin formed the Jeff Austin Band (jAb). While jAb saw many different lineups, it remained active until the time of his death. On February 10, 2015, Austin released his solo debut album ''The Simple Truth'' on Yep Roc Records. The project features the likes of Cody Dickinson, the Royal Horns, Todd Snider, Jennifer Hartswick, Brendan Bayliss and Sarah Siskind, as well as jAb members at the time Danny Barnes, Ross Martin and Eric Thorin. Jeff Austin died on June 24, 2019.

Side projects

In March 2004, Austin released a full-length studio album with Chris Castino (

The Big Wu :''The Big Wu was derived from the nickname for the volcano in Joe Versus the Volcano which is actually spelled The Big Woo.'' The Big Wu is a rock jam band from Minnesota. The group is composed of Al Oikari, Andy Miller, Chris Castino, Mark ...

) calle
''Songs from the Tin Shed''
This album of wistful cowboy music features Nick Forster and included guest appearances by Darol Anger, Sally Van Meter and Noam Pikelny. In February 2006, Austin recorded '' Rex (Live at the Fillmore)'', a live album under the band name Grateful Grass featuring fellow musicians

Keller Williams Keller Williams is an American singer, songwriter and musician who combines elements of Bluegrass music, bluegrass, folk music, folk, alternative rock, reggae, electronica/dance, jazz, funk, along with other assorted genres. He is often describ ...

and

Keith Moseley Keith Moseley (born February 5, 1965) is an American musician and songwriter, who plays bass guitar among other instruments for The String Cheese Incident, a jamband from Boulder, Colorado, of which he is a founding member. He has written and p ...

(

The String Cheese Incident The String Cheese Incident (SCI) is an American jam band from Crested Butte and Telluride, Colorado, formed in 1993. The band is composed of Michael Kang (acoustic/electric mandolin, electric guitar, and violin), Michael Travis (drums and percus ...

). Available only for digital download, the album features non-traditional bluegrass versions of songs by the Grateful Dead with 100% of the proceeds going to the Rex Foundation. In 2010, he partnered with

Brendan Bayliss Brendan Bayliss (born August 11, 1976) is an American musician and the founder, a lead guitarist, and primary vocalist for progressive rock band Umphrey's McGee. Biography Bayliss formed Umphrey's McGee in 1997 and took its moniker from the ...

Umphrey's McGee Umphrey's McGee is an American jam band originally from South Bend, Indiana. The band experiments with many musical styles, including rock, metal, funk, jazz, blues, reggae, electronic, bluegrass, country, and folk. They have toured regularl ...

to form a group called 30db. They put out an album called ''One Man Show'' on May 11, 2010 and played a small seven-show tour in May 2010 to promote the new album. Joining them on tour was Cody Dickinson from the

North Mississippi Allstars North Mississippi Allstars is an American blues and southern rock band from Hernando, Mississippi, founded in 1996. The band is currently composed of brothers Luther Dickinson (guitar, lowebow, vocals) and Cody Dickinson (drums, keyboards, ele ...

, Nick Forster from the bluegrass band

Hot Rize Hot Rize is a bluegrass band that rose to prominence in the early 1980s. Established in 1978, Hot Rize has appeared on national radio and TV shows, and has toured most of the United States, as well as Japan, Europe and Australia. History Hot ...

and Boulder-based Eric Thorin. In 2013, Austin contributed the theme music and closing credits to the documentary, '' I Know That Voice''.

References

External links

Jeff Austin official homepage

Yonder Mountain String Band To Tour Without Jeff Austin — Jambase.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Jeff 1974 births 2019 deaths People from Arlington Heights, Illinois American folk singers American bluegrass musicians Singers from Illinois American bluegrass mandolinists Country musicians from Illinois