David Jay Grisman[1] (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acoustic musicians. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2023.[2]
Biography
Grisman grew up in a Conservative Jewish household[3] in Passaic, New Jersey.[4] His father was a professional trombonist who gave him piano lessons when he was seven years old. As a teenager, he played piano, mandolin, and saxophone.[5]
Garcia named him "Dawg" after a dog that was following him while they were driving in Stinson Beach, California.[8]
"Dawg Music" is what Grisman calls his mixture of bluegrass and Django Reinhardt/Stéphane Grappelli-influenced jazz[9] as highlighted on his album Hot Dawg (recorded Oct. 1978, released 1979).[10] It was Grisman's combination of Reinhardt-era jazz, bluegrass, folk, Old World Mediterranean string band music, as well as modern jazz fusion that came to embody "Dawg" music.[11]
The David Grisman Bluegrass Experience performs at DelFest on May 30, 2010.
In the 1980s, Grisman formed the record label Acoustic Disc, which issued his recordings and those by other acoustic musicians.[12] The folk and bluegrass part of his personality emerged when he recorded with Mark O'Connor, Tony Rice, and Andy Statman.[5]
Family
Grisman is married to Tracy Bigelow and was married twice before.[13] He has three grown children: Samson, Gillian, and Monroe. Samson, a bassist and recording session musician living in Portland, often performs with his father.[14][13] Gillian, a filmmaker living in Novato, California, directed Grateful Dawg and the music documentary, Village Music: Last of the Great Record Stores.[15]
Grisman's song "Dawggy Mountain Breakdown" was the opening theme song for Car Talk on NPR.[16]
Grisman sued YouTube in May 2007, asserting in federal court that YouTube should be required to prevent individuals from illegally uploading recordings of his music.[17] Grisman's attorneys requested voluntary dismissal of the suit.[18]
The documentary Grateful Dawg (October 14, 2001) chronicles the friendship between Jerry Garcia and David Grisman.[19]
Grisman was a judge for the 6th and 7th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.[20]
He wrote much of the bluegrass music for the 1974 film Big Bad Mama directed by Roger Corman. It was played by the Great American Music Band, and they were recorded and mixed by Bill Wolf.[21]
Acoustic Disc is an independent record label founded by Grisman in 1990.[12] The label is based in San Rafael, California, and specializes in bluegrass, folk, jazz, and Dawg music.
References
^"Bluegrass at the Beach". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
