Matt Flinner is an American mandolinist, music transcriber, and ensemble leader. Mike Marshall has called him "one of the truly great young mandolinists of our generation."

Biography

Early years

Flinner's first musical experiences were in Salt Lake as well. At age 10, his older brother Rex taught him how to play the banjo, and then the mandolin soon after. They formed the original Matt Flinner Trio, and played bluegrass music for tips. When his father hosted a bluegrass show on KRCL-FM in Salt Lake City, Flinner assisted in music selection. At age 12, Flinner joined the Peewee Pickers, who play bluegrass festivals and watched heroes perform, including the

Osborne Brothers The Osborne Brothers, Sonny (October 29, 1937 – October 24, 2021) and Bobby (born December 7, 1931), were an influential and popular bluegrass act during the 1960s and 1970s and until Sonny retired in 2005. They are probably best known for ...

Ralph Stanley Ralph Edmund Stanley (February 25, 1927 – June 23, 2016) was an American bluegrass artist, known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing. Stanley began playing music in 1946, originally with his older brother Carter Stanley as part of ...

The Country Gentlemen The Country Gentlemen was a progressive bluegrass band that originated during the 1950s in the area of Washington, D.C., United States, and recorded and toured with various members until the death in 2004 of Charlie Waller (American musician), C ...

J. D. Crowe James Dee Crowe (August 27, 1937December 24, 2021) was an American banjo player and bluegrass band leader. He first became known during his four-year stint with Jimmy Martin in the 1950s. Crowe led the bluegrass group New South from 1971 until ...

, and

Doyle Lawson Doyle Lawson (born April 20, 1944) is an American traditional bluegrass and Southern gospel musician. He is best known as a mandolin player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 6-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Lawson was inducted into ...

. Flinner won the Walnut Valley National Championship in

Winfield, Kansas Winfield is a city and county seat of Cowley County, Kansas, United States. It is situated along the Walnut River in South Central Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,777. It is home to Southwestern College. Hi ...

for bluegrass banjo in 1990 and the following year for mandolin. Flinner earned a Bachelor of Music degree in composition from University of Utah , studying with Morris Rosenzweig and performing with the

Utah Symphony The Utah Symphony is an American orchestra based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The orchestra's principal venue is Abravanel Hall. In addition to its Salt Lake City subscription concerts, the orchestra travels around the Intermountain West serving c ...

Sugarbeat

Flinner joined banjoist

Tony Furtado Tony Furtado (born October 18, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter, banjoist, and guitarist. History Furtado was born in Pleasanton, California. He took up the banjo at age 12, inspired by the Beverly Hillbillies television show and a sixth- ...

's band Sugarbeat in the early 90s. Sugarbeat also featured lead vocalist and guitarist Ben Demerath (vocals, guitar), and Sally Truitt (bass). Sugarbeat win first place at the

Telluride Bluegrass Festival Telluride Bluegrass Festival is an annual music festival in Telluride, Colorado hosted by Planet Bluegrass. Although traditionally the festival focuses on bluegrass music, it often features music from a variety of related genres. History The tow ...

in 1992.

Modern Mandolin Quartet

Flinner moved to Nashville in 1999, and in 2002 he joined the Modern Mandolin Quartet, a chamber group that uses two mandolins, a

mandola The mandola (US and Canada) or tenor mandola (Ireland and UK) is a fretted, stringed musical instrument. It is to the mandolin what the viola is to the violin: the four double courses of strings tuned in fifths to the same pitches as the viola ...

, and a

mandocello The mandocello ( it, mandoloncello, Liuto cantabile, liuto moderno) is a plucked string instrument of the mandolin family. It is larger than the mandolin, and is the baritone instrument of the mandolin family. Its eight strings are in four paire ...

to perform classical and contemporary compositions. With Flinner, they released a re-recorded version of ''The Nutcracker Suite''. Along with Flinner, members include Dana Rath, Paul Binkley, and Adam Roszkiewicz. In 2013, their album ''Americana'' was nominated for three Grammy awards: Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance, Best Engineered Album, and Classical Producer Of The Year.

Matt Flinner Trio

Flinner formed The Matt Flinner Trio in 2006. Besides Flinner, the trio includes Ross Martin (guitar) and Eric Thorin (bass). For their Music du Jour shows, each member of the trio will compose a new song on the night before the performance and perform each new song at the show. In 2009, their first album ''Music du Jour'' included what they considered to be the best songs composed for the Music du Jour shows. The trio's 2016 album ''Traveling Roots'' features 12 more songs from the Music du Jour tours: four from each trio member.

Phillips, Grier & Flinner

Todd Phillips Todd Phillips (né Bunzl, born December 20, 1970) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He began his career in 1993 and directed films in the 2000s such as ''Road Trip (film), Road Trip'', ''Old School (film), Old School'', ...

David Grier David Grier is an American acoustic guitarist. He is considered to be one of the premier flatpicking guitarists in the world. His crosspicking, unique phrasing, and his ability to create multiple variations on a theme are hallmarks of his play ...

, and Matt Flinner perform, record, and tour as a trio. Their first album ''Phillips, Grier & Flinner'' was released in 2008. On their follow-up ''Looking Back'', the trio cover songs such as

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...

's "Tennessee Blues" and "Monroe's Hornpipe,"

Mongo Santamaría Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez (April 7, 1917 – February 1, 2003) was a Cuban percussionist and bandleader who spent most of his career in the United States. Primarily a conga drummer, Santamaría was a leading figure in the pachanga and ...

's "

Afro Blue "Afro Blue" is a jazz standard composed by Mongo Santamaría. Santamaria version Mongo Santamaria recorded his composition "Afro Blue" in 1959 when playing with the Cal Tjader Sextet. The first recorded performance was on April 20, 1959, at th ...

," and

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA ...

's "Search for Peace."

Recordings

Released in 1999, ''The View From Here'' was produced by Todd Phillips (bass) and featured

(guitar),

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 has ...

(resonator guitar), and fiddlers

Stuart Duncan Stuart Duncan (born April 14, 1964) is an American bluegrass musician who plays the fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo. Life Duncan was born in Quantico, Virginia, and raised in Santa Paula, California, where he played in the school band. He ...

Darol Anger Darol Anger is an American violinist and founding member of The David Grisman Quintet. Career Darol Anger entered popular music at the age of 21 as a founding member of The David Grisman Quintet. Anger played fiddle to David Grisman's mando ...

, and Tim O'Brien. ''Latitude'' in 2001 again included the assistance of Anger, Duncan on fiddle, Douglas, Grier, Phillips.

Matt Flinner Quartet

Flinner plays lead mandolin in his electric rock-influenced band The Matt Flinner Quartet, influenced by

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

and

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951), sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in the ...

. The quartet includes Gawain Mathews (guitar), Sam Bevan (bass), and Aaron Johnston (drums).

Other projects

Flinner was a featured soloist with

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 ...

during the Nashville Chamber Orchestra’s performance of Don Hart's "Concertino for Strings, Two Mandolins and Guitar" with guitarist Roger Hudson and mandolinist Carlo Aonzo. When the band

Leftover Salmon Leftover Salmon is an American jam band from Boulder, Colorado, formed in 1989. The band's music is a blend of bluegrass, rock, country, and Cajun/Zydeco. Over their thirty years as a band Salmon have released seven studio albums and three li ...

lost founding member Mark Vann to cancer in 2002, Flinner played banjo as a substitute until the band was able to reorganize. Flinner was featured on

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominated ...

's album ''

The Crow The Crow is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fiancée at t ...

'', which won the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album. Flinner also occasionally performs and tours with

Darrell Scott James Darrell Scott, known as Darrell Scott (born August 6, 1959), is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. The son of musician Wayne Scott, he moved as a child to East Gary, Indiana (known today as Lake Station, Indiana). ...

Frank Vignola Frank Vignola (born December 30, 1965) is an American jazz guitarist. He has played in the genres of swing, fusion, gypsy jazz, classical, and pop. Career Vignola grew up on Long Island, New York. His father played accordion and banjo and ...

, David Grier,

Alison Brown Alison Brown (born August 7, 1962) is an American banjo player, guitarist, composer, and producer. She has won and has been nominated for several Grammy awards and is often compared to another banjo prodigy, Béla Fleck, for her unique style of ...

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 ...

, the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble, and the

Ying Quartet Ying may refer to: People * Yíng (嬴), a Chinese surname, the ancestral name of Qin Shi Huang, first Emperor of China in the Qin Dynasty, and some contemporary rival royal families such as the Zhaos * Yīng (应), a Chinese surname from the Z ...

Personal life

Flinner lives with his wife Wendy in Vermont and teaches mandolin through his online Bluegrass Mandolin 101 program.

Discography

Solo albums

* 1998: ''The View From Here'' (

Compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...

) * 2001: ''Latitude'' (Compass)

Matt Flinner Trio

* 2009: ''Music du Jour'' (Compass) * 2012: ''Winter Harvest'' (Compass) * 2016: ''Traveling Roots'' (Compass)

Matt Flinner Quartet

2003: ''Walking On the Moon'' (Compass)

Todd Phillips Todd Phillips (né Bunzl, born December 20, 1970) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He began his career in 1993 and directed films in the 2000s such as ''Road Trip (film), Road Trip'', ''Old School (film), Old School'', ...
,
David Grier David Grier is an American acoustic guitarist. He is considered to be one of the premier flatpicking guitarists in the world. His crosspicking, unique phrasing, and his ability to create multiple variations on a theme are hallmarks of his play ...
, and Matt Flinner

* 1999: ''Todd Phillips, David Grier & Matt Flinner'' (Compass) * 2002: ''Looking Back'' (Compass)

Modern Mandolin Quartet

* 2010: ''The Nutcracker Suite and other arrangements from Delibes, Faure, Llobet & Vivaldi'' ( Sono Luminus) * 2012: ''Americana'' (Sono Luminus)

Sugarbeat

* 1993: ''Sugarbeat'' (Planet Bluegrass)

Peewee Pickers

* 1982: ''Getting Goin (self-released)

Also appears on

* 1994:

Douglas Spotted Eagle Douglas Spotted Eagle (born Douglas Wallentine)Douglas Spotted Eagle
bio at GetTune. Access ...

- ''Common Ground'' (Natural Visions) * 1994: Tim O'Brien - ''Away Out on the Mountain'' ( Sugar Hill) with Mollie O'Brien * 1995: Kate MacLeod - ''Trying to Get It Right'' ( Waterbug) * 1995:

Salamander Crossing Salamander Crossing was a bluegrass band based in New England that disbanded in 1999. The band was composed of lead singer and fiddler Rani Arbo, Jeff Kelliher on guitar, mandolin, and vocals, and Andrew Kinsey on bass and vocals. They deri ...

- ''Salamander Crossing'' (

Signature Sounds Signature Sounds Recordings is an independent record label specializing in Americana and modern folk music. Jim Olsen and Mark Thayer founded the label in 1995 to promote acoustic musicians who were playing in Northampton, Massachusetts. Signatu ...

) * 1996: Judith Edelman - ''Perfect World'' (Compass) * 1997: Nancy Hanson - ''Drops in a Bucket'' (Small Box) * 1997: Ben Winship - ''One Shoe Left'' (Snake River) * 1997: Kate MacLeod - ''Constant Emotion'' (Waterbug) * 1997: Chris Proctor - ''Only Now'' (

Flying Fish The Exocoetidae are a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes class Actinopterygii, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven to nine genera. While they cannot fly in the same way a bird do ...

) * 1998: Judith Edelman - ''Only Sun'' (Compass) * 1999: Anke Summerhill - ''The Roots Run Deep'' (Independent Songwriters) * 2000:

- ''

Fair Weather Fairweather or Fair Weather may refer to:. Music * Fairweather (band), an American indie rock band * Fair Weather (band), a British pop group from 1970 to 1971 * ''Fair Weather'' (album), a 2000 album by Alison Brown * "Fair Weather", a track ...

'' (Compass) * 2000: Judith Edelman - ''Drama Queen'' (Compass) * 2001: Brenn Hill - '' Call You Cowboy'' (Real West) * 2001: Jake Schepps - ''An Evening in the Village: The Music of

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...

'' (Fine Mighty) * 2003:

Natalie MacMaster Natalie MacMaster (born June 13, 1972) is a Canadian fiddler from Troy, Inverness County, Nova Scotia who plays Cape Breton fiddle music. MacMaster has toured with the Chieftains, Faith Hill, Carlos Santana, and Alison Krauss, and has recorded ...

- ''

Blueprint A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing or engineering drawing using a contact print process on light-sensitive sheets. Introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842, the process allowed rapid and accurate production of an unlimited number ...

'' (

Rounder Rounder(s) or The Rounder(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Rounders'' (1914 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounder'' (1930 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounders'' (1965 film), a western comedy * ''Rounders'' (film), a 1998 poker f ...

) * 2004:

Noam Pikelny Noam Pikelny (born February 27, 1981, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American banjoist. He is a member of the group Punch Brothers and was previously in Leftover Salmon as well as the John Cowan Band. Pikelny is a nine-time Grammy Award nominee, win ...

- ''In the Maze'' (Compass) * 2004: K. C. Groves - '"Something Familiar'' (Skylark Sounds) * 2004: Brenn Hill - ''Endangered'' (Real West) * 2005:

Drew Emmitt Drew Emmitt is an American mandolinist, guitarist, fiddle player, occasional flutist, and singer, best known for being one of the founding members of Leftover Salmon, as well as being the frontman of the Left Hand String Band, Drew Emmitt Ba ...

- ''Across the Bridge'' (Compass) * 2005: Armando Zuppa - ''Zupperman'' (Very Independent) * 2007: Tim Carter - ''Bang Bang'' (Tree O Music) * 2009:

John Cowan John Cowan (born August 24, 1953) is an American soul music and progressive bluegrass vocalist and bass guitar player. He was the lead vocalist and bass player for the New Grass Revival. Cowan became the band's bassist in 1972 after the departure ...

- ''Comfort and Joy'' (

eOne Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television s ...

) * 2009:

- '' The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo'' (Rounder) * 2009:

- ''Inside Out'' (Compass) * 2009: The Vignola Collective ''Gypsy Grass'' (Dance Research) * 2011: various artists - ''Pa's Fiddle: Charles Ingalls, American Fiddler'' (

Thirty Tigers Thirty Tigers is an American entertainment company which offers music marketing, distribution, and management services to independent artists. It is based in Nashville. History The company was founded in 2002 by David Macias and Deb Markland ...

) * 2013: Craig Duncan - ''Blue Suede Bluegrass'' (Green Hill) * 2014: David Benedict - ''Into the True Country'' (self-released)

Music Publications

1999: ''In The Pines: 13 Classic Old-Time Instrumentals'' (

Mel Bay Mel Bay (February 25, 1913 – May 14, 1997) was an American musician and publisher best known for his series of music education books. His '' Encyclopedia of Guitar Chords'' remains a bestseller. Biography Early life Melbourne E. Bay was bo ...

) * 2006: Mike Marshall - ''The Mike Marshall Collection'' (

) - provided transcription * 2007: ''All Star Bluegrass Jam Along for Mandolin'' Book/CD ( Homespun * 2009:

Roland White Roland Joseph White (né LeBlanc; April 23, 1938 – April 1, 2022) was an American bluegrass music artist, performing principally on the mandolin. Biography White was born in Madawaska, Maine, on April 23, 1938, as Roland Joseph LeBlanc, and ...

& Diane Bouska: ''The Essential

Clarence White Clarence White (born Clarence Joseph LeBlanc; June 7, 1944 – July 15, 1973) was an American bluegrass and country guitarist and singer. He is best known as a member of the bluegrass ensemble the Kentucky Colonels and the rock band the Byrds, ...

Bluegrass Guitar Leads'' (Diane and Roland Music) - with Steve Pottier and Matt Flinner * 2011: The Real Bluegrass Book (

Hal Leonard HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bangalore, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fight ...

)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flinner, Matt 1969 births People from Colorado American jazz musicians American classical musicians American bluegrass musicians American mandolinists American bluegrass mandolinists Living people Leftover Salmon members