Tony Trischka
The avant-garde banjo stylings of Tony Trischka inspired a whole generation of progressive bluegrass musicians; he was not only considered among the very best pickers, he was also one of the instrument's top teachers, and created numerous instructional books, teaching video tapes and cassettes.
A native of Syracuse, New York, Trischka's interest in banjo was sparked by the Kingston Trio's "Charlie and the MTA" in 1963. Two years later, he joined the Down City Ramblers, where he remained through 1971. That year, Trischka made his recording debut on 15 Bluegrass Instrumentals with the band Country Cooking; at the same time, he was also a member of Country Granola. In 1973, he began a two-year stint with Breakfast Special. Between 1974 and 1975, he recorded two solo albums, Bluegrass Light and Heartlands. After one more solo album in 1976, Banjoland, he went on to become musical leader for the Broadway show The Robber Bridegroom. Trischka toured with the show in 1978, the year he also played with the Monroe Doctrine.
Beginning in 1978, he also played with artists such as Peter Rowan, Richard Greene, and Stacy Phillips. In the early 1980s, he began recording with his new group Skyline, which recorded its first album in 1983. Subsequent albums included Robot Plane Flies over Arkansas (solo, 1983), Stranded in the Moonlight (with Skyline, 1984) and Hill Country (solo, 1985). In 1984, he performed in his first feature film, Foxfire. Three years later, he worked on the soundtrack for Driving Miss Daisy. Trischka produced the Belgian group Gold Rush's No More Angels in 1988. The following year, Skyline recorded its final album, Fire of Grace. He also recorded the theme song for Books on the Air, a popular National Public Radio Show, and continued his affiliation with the network by appearing on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, From Our Front Porch, and other radio shows. Trischka's solo recordings include 1993's World Turning, 1995's Glory Shone Around: A Christmas Collection and 1999's Bend. New Deal followed in 2003. The new studio album was a bluesy adaptation of bluegrass standards that featured, among other things, a vocal cameo by Loudon Wainwright. Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular, featuring an appearance by comedian Steve Martin, came out in 2007 and won several IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Awards in 2007 including one for Banjo Player of the Year and was nominated for a Grammy Award. His solo album for Smithsonian Folkways Records, Territory was named Best Americana Album at the Independent Music Awards. He has just produced Steve Martin’s Rare Bird Alert (Rounder) which features performances by Paul McCartney and the Dixie Chicks. Tony is also the musical director of the forthcoming documentary Give Me the Banjo, to be aired on PBS in the fall of 2011. In addition, Tony is one of the instrument's top teachers, and has created numerous instructional books, DVDs and CDs. The ground breaking and interactive Tony Trischka School of Banjo launched in July of 2009, and is the online banjo home for students from all around the world.
TONY TRISCHKA HAS PLAYED WITH:
The Boston Pops Orchestra
Barry Bostwick*
Sam Bush*
David Bromberg
William S. Burroughs*
Buddy Cage*
Larry Campbell*
Keith Carradine
Vassar Clements*
Ornette Coleman
John Denver*
Hazel Dickens*
Jerry Douglas*
Bill Evans (saxophonist with Miles Davis)*
Bela Fleck*
The Flecktones
John Goodman
Richard Greene*
Merv Griffin Orchestra
Nancy Griffith
David Grisman*
Thomas Hampson*
John Hartford
Levon Helm
Chris Hillman
Garth Hudson
Ferlin Huskey
David Johansen (aka Buster Poindexter)*
Jorma Kaukonen
Jeannie Kendall
Alison Krauss*
Malachy McCourt
Roger McGuinn
Steve Martin*
John Medeski
Natalie Merchant*
Edgar Meyer
Jane Monheit
Bill Monroe
National Radio Orchestra of Korea
Mark O’Connor*
Odetta
Charles Osgood*
Van Dyke Parks*
Tom Paxton
Robert Randolph
The Roche Sisters*
Peter Rowan*
Earl Scruggs*
Mike Seeger*
Pete Seeger*
Ricky Skaggs
Phoebe Snow
Bruce Springsteen
Ralph Stanley*
Tanya Tucker
Jay Ungar and Molly Mason*
Violent Femmes*
Loudon Wainwright*
Doc Watson
Waverly Consort*
The Whites*
Wichita Percussion Ensemble
Tom Wopat
*denotes recordings
Television Appearances
• Live at the Quick, with Bela Fleck, 2004-2006
• ABC “Views”, with Bela Fleck - Summer 1997
• “ABC World News Tonight” with Peter Jennings - Summer1996
• “CBS Sunday Morning” with Charles Osgood - feature story (including Bela Fleck), 1995
• “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” (PBS), 1992
• British Television Production of “Voice of America: History of the Banjo” , 1989
• CBS “Hallmark Hall of Fame” production of “Foxfire” with Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn and John Denver, 1987
• Ralph Emory’s “Frets” Awards Show, The Nashville Network, 1987
• Nashville Network’s “Fire on the Mountain,” 1986, 1984
• Merv Griffin Show, 1976
Performances
• Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular Tour - Currently touring with guitarist/vocalist michael daves, fiddler brittany haas, bassist skip ward & double banjo seat filled by noam pikelny, gordon stone, and others.
• Tony Trischka Band – Kennedy Center (2000), Seaside Jazz Festival (2002), plus tours throughout the United States, Canada, and Germany, 1997-present
• Solo tours throughout the United States and Korea, Japan, Finland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Croatia, 1986-present
• World Turning - Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC) 1997, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Winterhawk Bluegrass Festival, Black Mountain Folk Festival, and countless concerts and club dates, 1993-2002
• National Public Radio – “Next Big Thing”, 2005, “World Café”, 2004, 2001, “Morning Edition”, “Fresh Air”, Mountain Stage”, 2001, 1995 and 1994; The Connection (2001), “Prairie Home Companion”, 1996, 1982
• With Skyline - appearances in 40 states, five tours throughout Europe; two tours of Japan, 1981-Present
Performances With Others
• Duo performances with Bela Fleck - tours of U.S., and New Zealand, 1992-2006
• With John Modeskey and Robert Randolph, 2001
• Leftover Salmon, Flecktones, Vassar Clements, and Violent Femmes, 1999-2001
• Old and in the Way reunion at Rocky Grass Festival (CO), 1997
• Waverly Consort - 1998 Spring tour, NPR’s Performance Today, Summer 1996; Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), 1995.
• With Peter Rowan and Richard Greene - Telluride,CO, 1996, Japan and Hawaii, 1978
• Guest soloist with National Radio Orchestra of Korea, in Seoul: “The Slavery Documents”, 1991
• Guest soloist with Wichita Percussion Ensemble: “The Void Beneath the Coffee Table” a three movement banjo concerto composed by Paul Elwood for Tony Trischka, 1986
• “Foxfire” with Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, and Keith Carradine, Los Angeles and Denver, 1985-1986
• “The Robber Bridegroom” - Ford’s Theater, Washington, D.C., 1978; bus and truck tour, 1978; musical leader of Broadway production, 1976-1977
• With David Bromberg and Ferlin Husky - Avery Fisher Hall, NYC, 1973
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