![Bela Fleck concert for My Bluegrass Heart 2, April 12 2022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Bela_Fleck_concert_for_My_Bluegrass_Heart_2%2C_April_12_2022.jpg)
Mark Schatz (born April 23, 1955) is an American
bassist,
banjoist,
mandolinist,
guitarist,
clogger, and
hambone performer who has recorded on albums for and toured with artists including
Bela Fleck,
Nickel Creek
Nickel Creek (formerly known as the Nickel Creek Band) is an American bluegrass band consisting of Chris Thile (mandolin), and siblings Sara Watkins (fiddle) and Sean Watkins (guitar). Formed in 1989 in Southern California, they released six al ...
,
Jerry Douglas
Gerald Calvin "Jerry" Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer.
Career
In addition to his fourteen solo recordings, Douglas has played on more than 1,600 albums. As a sideman, he h ...
,
Maura O'Connell
Maura O'Connell (born 16 September 1958) is an Irish singer and actress. She is known for her contemporary interpretations of Irish folk songs, strongly influenced by American country music.
Background
O'Connell was born in Ennis, the main to ...
,
Tony Rice
David Anthony Rice (June 8, 1951 – December 25, 2020), known professionally as Tony Rice, was an American guitarist and bluegrass musician. He was an influential acoustic guitar player in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and a ...
,
John Hartford
John Cowan Hartford (December 30, 1937 – June 4, 2001) was an American folk, country, and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive kn ...
,
Emmylou Harris,
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
, and
Tim O'Brien.
Background
Schatz was born into a musical family in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and grew up in
Lexington,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, near
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
.
From 1973 to 1978 he studied music theory and composition at
Haverford College, after which he studied for a year at the
Berklee College of Music in Boston. He relocated to
Nashville,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
in 1983.
Career
Mark Schatz is a two time
International Bluegrass Music Association
The International Bluegrass Music Association, or IBMA, is a trade association to promote bluegrass music.
Formed in 1985, IBMA established its first headquarters in Owensboro, Kentucky. In 1988 they announced plans to create the International ...
Bass Player of the Year award winner.
Schatz toured and recorded with
progressive acoustic trio
Nickel Creek
Nickel Creek (formerly known as the Nickel Creek Band) is an American bluegrass band consisting of Chris Thile (mandolin), and siblings Sara Watkins (fiddle) and Sean Watkins (guitar). Formed in 1989 in Southern California, they released six al ...
from 2003 until the start of the band's indefinite hiatus in late 2007. Schatz is also a solo artist who has recorded two solo albums on
Rounder Records, his debut produced by
Bela Fleck. His band, "Mark Schatz & Friends," is composed of Schatz,
Casey Driessen
Casey Christopher Driessen (born December 6, 1978 in Owatonna, Minnesota, United States) is an American bluegrass fiddler and singer. He plays acoustic and electric five-string violins, each of which has an additional low C string.
He is a gr ...
,
Missy Raines
Missy Raines (born April 6, 1962) is an American bassist, singer, teacher, and songwriter. She has won 10 International Bluegrass Music Awards for Bass Player of the Year. Missy Raines was the first woman to win IBMA Bass Player of the Year awa ...
, and
Jim Hurst
Jim Hurst is an American bluegrass and country guitarist. He is known primarily as an instrumentalist but has also been credited for vocals with numerous other artists as well as his solo career. Hurst has performed with musicians that include ...
. Schatz has produced albums for various bluegrass artists including
The Duhks
The Duhks are a Canadian folk fusion band, formed in 2002 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Featuring banjo, fiddle, guitar, percussion, and vocals, The Duhks blend folk music together with various Canadian and American traditional styles, includi ...
, and has recorded with
Nefesh Mountain.
Discography
Solo
*1995: ''Brand New Old Tyme Way''
*2006: ''Steppin' in the Boilerhouse''
With Nickel Creek
*2005: ''
Why Should the Fire Die?
''Why Should The Fire Die?'' is the third major album release and fifth album overall by progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek. The album was released on Sugar Hill on August 9, 2005, in the United States, and on August 8 in the United Kingdom. ...
''
*2006: ''
Reasons Why: The Very Best''
References
External links
Official website
American record producers
1955 births
Living people
Bluegrass Album Band members
People from Lexington, Massachusetts
Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee
American double-bassists
American banjoists
American country banjoists
American country mandolinists
American bluegrass mandolinists
Haverford College alumni
{{US-record-producer-stub