Russ Barenberg (born October 8, 1950) is an American bluegrass musician.

Biography

Barenberg began playing guitar at age 13, taking lessons from Alan Miller, whose brother, John Miller, Barenberg would later play with. His style was heavily influenced by the

flatpicking Flatpicking (or simply picking) is the technique of striking the strings of a guitar with a pick (also called a plectrum) held between the thumb and one or two fingers. It can be contrasted to fingerstyle guitar, which is playing with indi ...

technique of

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, ...

. He attended

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

and met

Pete Wernick Pete Wernick (born February 25, 1946), also known as "Dr. Banjo", is an American musician. He is a five-string banjo player in the bluegrass music scene since the 1960s, founder of the Country Cooking and Hot Rize bands, Grammy nominee and educato ...

there in 1968. Together they joined to form Country Cooking, who released two albums of bluegrass before breaking up in 1975. In 1975 Barenberg briefly began playing

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

with a jazz rock group, Carried Away. Late in 1975 he quit playing music, but returned in 1977, moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to play in the group Heartlands. This group also played backup on Barenberg's debut solo effort, ''Cowboy Calypso'', in 1980. He then moved to

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 ...

, teaching at the Music Emporium in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. Here he played in the groups Fiddle Fever and Laughing Hands. In 1986 Barenberg moved to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, where he has played often with

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 ...

Edgar Meyer Edgar Meyer (born November 24, 1960) is an American bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and jazz. He has won five Grammy Awards and been nominated seven times. Meyer is a member of the Telluride Bluegrass ...

and

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 t ...

, and done much work as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

with

Béla Fleck Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, bringing the instrument from its bluegrass roots to jazz, classi ...

Hazel Dickens Hazel Jane Dickens (June 1, 1925 – April 22, 2011) was an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, double bassist and guitarist. Her music was characterized not only by her high, lonesome singing style, but also by her provocative pro- unio ...

Mel Tillis Lonnie Melvin Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, ...

, and

Randy Travis Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country music and gospel music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. Active from 1978 until being incapacitated by a stroke in 2013, he has recor ...

, among others. He has released several instructional videos.

"Russ Barenberg is one of the most melodic instrumentalists and composers in contemporary bluegrass and acoustic music. Best known for his own unique style of flatpicking, Barenberg often uses his other three fingers to enhance rhythm and melody and create a more textural sensitivity."

In 2007, his song "Little Monk" was nominated for a

Grammy award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for Best Country Instrumental Performance. Since 1995 he has been a member of the house band for the

Transatlantic Sessions Transatlantic Sessions is the collective title for a series of musical productions by Glasgow-based Pelicula Films Ltd, funded by- and produced for BBC Scotland, BBC Four and RTÉ of Ireland. The productions comprise collaborative live performan ...

television programs on the BBC.

Discography

Solo albums

*1980: ''Cowboy Calypso'' (

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 ...

) * 1983: ''Behind the Melodies'' (Rounder) * 1988: ''Moving Pictures'' (Rounder) * 2007: ''When at Last'' (

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 ...

)

Compilations

* 1987: ''Halloween Rehearsal'' (Rounder)

With Country Cooking

* 1971: ''14 Bluegrass Instrumentals'' (Rounder) * 1972: ''Frank Wakefield with Country Cooking'' (Rounder) * 1974: ''Barrel of Fun'' (Rounder) * 1974: ''Bluegrass Guitar'' (

Music Minus One Music Minus One (MMO) is a music production and recording company in Westchester, New York. Their recordings are meant to be accompanied by the listener on whichever instrument (or voice type) is excluded from the recording, as an aid to practice, ...

)

With
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 ...
and
Edgar Meyer Edgar Meyer (born November 24, 1960) is an American bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and jazz. He has won five Grammy Awards and been nominated seven times. Meyer is a member of the Telluride Bluegrass ...

* 1993: ''Skip, Hop and Wobble'' ( Sugar Hill)

Also appears on

* 1973:

Ray Repp Raymond Robert Repp (September 17, 1942 – April 26, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter credited with introducing folk music into Mass in the Catholic Church, Catholic Masses with his 1965 album ''Mass for Young Americans,'' an album that fo ...

- ''Give Us Peace'' (K&R / Agápe) * 1975: John Miller - ''Let's Go Riding: Country Blues and Old Time Music'' (Rounder) * 1977: John Miller - ''Safe Sweet Home'' (Rounder) * 1977: Peter Wernick - ''Dr. Banjo Steps Out'' (

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 ...

) * 1980:

- ''Hard Hitting Songs for Hard Hit People'' (Rounder) * 1980:

Andy Statman Andy Statman (born 1950) is a noted American klezmer clarinetist and bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist. Life and career Statman was born in New York City and grew up in the borough of Queens. Beginning at age 12, he learned to play banjo and gui ...

- ''Flatbush Waltz'' (Rounder) * 1981:

Tony Trischka Anthony Cattell Trischka (born January 16, 1949) is an American five-string banjo player. Sandra Brennan wrote of him in 2021: "One of the most influential modern banjoists, both in several forms of bluegrass music and occasionally in jazz and ...

, Bill Keith, and

- ''Fiddle Tunes for Banjo'' (Rounder) * 1982: Jerry Douglas - '' Fluxedo'' (Rounder) * 1983: Tony Trischka: ''A Robot Plane Flies over Arkansas'' (Rounder) * 1984: Bill Keith - ''Banjoistics'' (Rounder) * 1985: Rodney Miller - ''Airplang'' (Rounder) * 1986: Jerry Douglas - ''

Under the Wire Under may refer to: * "Under" (Alex Hepburn song), 2013 * "Under" (Pleasure P song), 2009 *Bülent Ünder (born 1949), Turkish footballer *Cengiz Ünder (born 1997), Turkish footballer *Marie Under Marie Under ( – 25 September 1980) was one o ...

'' (MCA) * 1986: Andy Statman - ''Nashville Mornings New York Nights'' (Rounder) * 1987: Hazel Dickens - ''It's Hard To Tell The Singer From The Song'' (Rounder) * 1987: Jerry Douglas - ''

Changing Channels Changing Channels may refer to: * ''Changing Channels'' (Jerry Douglas album), 1987 * ''Changing Channels'' (Pangaea album), 2023 * "Changing Channels", a song by Jimmy Buffett from '' Off to See the Lizard'', 1989 * "Changing Channels", a 2009 ...

'' ( MCA) * 1987:

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

- '' Too Late to Cry'' (Rounder) * 1987: Hugh Moffatt - ''Loving You'' (Rounder) * 1987:

- '' Always & Forever'' (

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

) * 1988:

Roy Book Binder Roy Book Binder (born October 5, 1943 as Paul Roy Bookbinder) is an American blues guitarist, singer-songwriter and storyteller. A student and friend of the Rev. Gary Davis, he is equally at home with blues and ragtime. He is known to shift ...

- ''"Bookeroo!"'' (Rounder) * 1988:

Mark O'Connor Mark O'Connor (born August 5, 1961) is an American fiddle player and composer whose music combines bluegrass, country, jazz and classical. A three-time Grammy Award winner, he has won six Country Music Association Musician Of The Year awards ...

- ''Elysian Forest'' (Warner Bros.) * 1988:

Jesse Winchester James Ridout "Jesse" Winchester Jr. (May 17, 1944 – April 11, 2014) was an American-Canadian musician and songwriter. He was born and raised in the southern United States. Opposed to the Vietnam War, he moved to Canada in 1967 to avoid b ...

- ''Humour Me'' (Sugar Hill) * 1989:

Laurie Lewis Laurie Lewis is an innovative American singer, musician, and songwriter in the genre of bluegrass music. History Laurie Lewis was born in Long Beach, California on September 28, 1950. Her family moved regularly from place to place until she w ...

- ''Love Chooses You'' (Flying Fish) * 1992:

- ''Helpless Heart'' (Warner Bros.) * 1990: various artists - ''The Civil War: Original Soundtrack Recording'' ( Elektra

Nonesuch __NOTOC__ Nonesuch may refer to: Plants * ''Lychnis chalcedonica'', a wildflower * ''Medicago lupulina'', a wildflower Places and structures *Nonesuch, Kentucky *Nonesuch Island, Bermuda *Nonesuch Mine, Michigan *Nonesuch Palace, mis-spelling of ...

) * 1991: Randy Travis - '' High Lonesome'' (Warner Bros.) * 1992:

- ''

Slide Rule The slide rule is a mechanical analog computer which is used primarily for multiplication and division, and for functions such as exponents, roots, logarithms, and trigonometry. It is not typically designed for addition or subtraction, which is ...

'' (Sugar Hill) * 1991:

Rhonda Vincent Rhonda Lea Vincent (born July 13, 1962) is an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Vincent's music career began when she was a child in her family's band The Sally Mountain Show, and it has spanned more than four de ...

- ''New Dreams and Sunshine'' (

Rebel A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; ...

) * 1992: Maura O'Connell - ''Blue Is the Colour of Hope'' (Warner Bros.) * 1993: Pete Wernick - ''On a Roll'' (Sugar Hill) * 1994: Kate Mackenzie - ''Let Them Talk'' ( Red House) * 1997:

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 ...

- ''Heritage'' ( Six Degrees) * 1997:

Chris Thile Christopher Scott Thile (; born February 20, 1981) is an American mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and radio personality, best known for his work in the progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek and the acoustic folk and progressive blue ...

- '' Stealing Second'' (Sugar Hill) * 1998: Jerry Douglas - '' Restless on the Farm'' (Sugar Hill) * 2002: Rhonda Vincent - ''My Blue Tears'' (Rebel) * 2004: Maura O'Connell - ''Don't I Know'' (Sugar Hill) * 2005: Béla Fleck - '' Crossing the Tracks'' (Rounder) * 2006:

Bryan Sutton Bryan Sutton is an American musician. Primarily known as a flatpicking acoustic guitar player, Sutton also plays mandolin, banjo, ukulele, and electric guitar. He also sings and writes songs. Biography Early career Sutton's grandfather and ...

- ''Not Too Far from the Tree'' (Sugar Hill) * 2008:

Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. In the late 1950s, he was an original member of the ground-breaking ...

Family and Friends - '' Rambling Boy'' (

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

) * 2009:

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 ...

- '' The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo'' (Rounder) * 2009: Bryan Sutton - ''Almost Live'' (Sugar Hill) * 2009: Jesse Winchester - ''Love Filling Station'' ( Appleseed) * 2013: Craig Duncan - ''Blue Suede Bluegrass'' (Green Hill) * 2014: Tony Trischka - ''Great Big World'' (Rounder)

References

External links

Official site
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barenberg, Russ 1950 births Living people 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male musicians Acoustic guitarists American bluegrass guitarists American male guitarists American session musicians Cornell University alumni