The Jazz Mandolin Project was an acoustic

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

group formed in Burlington, Vermont, by Jamie Masefield in 1993. Masefield played banjo with

dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

bands, including the

Preservation Hall Jazz Band The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is a New Orleans jazz band founded in New Orleans by tuba player Allan Jaffe in the early 1960s. The band derives its name from Preservation Hall in the French Quarter. In 2005, the Hall's doors were closed for a p ...

, before switching to

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

. In 1996, the debut album consisted of Gabe Jarrett on drums and Stacey Starkweather on bass. The following year the group broke up, and Masefield kept the name with different musicians: bassist Chris Dahlgren and drummer Jon Fishman from

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...

. They recorded the next album, ''Tour de Flux''. Masefield described the band's music as " very contrapuntal stuff, like a three-way conversation." The Project's next album, ''Xenoblast'' was on

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...

, though it was less a jazz album and more improvisational jazz rock, featuring the guitarist

Trey Anastasio Ernest Joseph "Trey" Anastasio III (born September 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Phish, which he co-founded in 1983. He is credited by name as composer of 152 Phish o ...

of Phish. In 2003 they released a

drum & bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

-influenced album called ''Jungle Tango'', which included Ari Hoenig and Danton Boller. In 2005 Masefield returned to a more acoustic sound with ''The Deep Forbidden Lake'', which features cover versions of songs by

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

, and

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...

Discography

* ''The Jazz Mandolin Project'' (Accurate, 1996), (Lenapee, 2004) * ''Tour de Flux'' Records (Accurate, 1999) * ''Xenoblast'' (

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

, 2000), (EMI Digital, 2003) * ''After Dinner Jams'' (Lenapee, 2001), (DKE, 2004) * ''Jungle Tango'' (Lenapee, 2003) * ''The Deep Forbidden Lake'' (Lenapee, 2005)

Personnel

* Jamie Masefield — Acoustic and electric mandolin, charango, and tenor banjo (All) * Stacey Starkweather — Electric and acoustic bass, effects, and mellotron (1996) * Chris Dahlgren — Double bass, imbera, and music box (1999, 2000) * Danton Boller — Acoustic and electric bass (2001, 2003) *

Greg Cohen Greg Cohen (born July 13, 1953) is an American jazz bassist who has been a member of John Zorn's Masada quartet and worked with numerous other noted musicians for over four decades. Career Cohen plays traditional jazz and other styles, includi ...

— Upright bass (2005) * Gabriel Jarrett — Drums and percussives (1996) *

Jon Fishman Jon Fishman (born February 19, 1965) is an American drummer known for his work with the band Phish, which he co-founded in 1983, and which was, in part, named after him. He is credited with co-writing nineteen Phish songs, eight with a solo cr ...

— Drums and cuica (1999), Piano (2001) *

Ari Hoenig Ari Hoenig (born November 13, 1973) is an American jazz drummer, composer, and educator. Educational materials Hoenig has taught and is on the faculty at New York University and The New School in New York. He gives clinics and lectures at music ...

— Drums, piano (2000, 2001, 2003) *

Gil Goldstein Gil Goldstein (born November 6, 1950 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American jazz pianist and accordionist. He has won 5 Grammy Awards and he was nominated 8 time Biography He began studying accordion at age 5 after noticing it in The Lawrence We ...

— Piano, accordion (2001, 2003, 2005) * Chris Lovejoy — Percussion (2001, 2003)

References

{{Authority control American jazz ensembles Culture of Burlington, Vermont Musical groups from Vermont Musical groups established in 1993 1993 establishments in the United States