Darol Anger

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Darol Anger
Anger-fls.gif
Darol Anger in 2004. Photo by Forrest L. Smith, III
Background information
Born (1953-05-07) May 7, 1953 (age 70)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Genres Progressive bluegrass, folk, chamber jazz, new-age
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Violin
Years active1977–present
Labels Compass, Windham Hill, Six Degrees, Rounder, Kaleidoscope
Website www.darolanger.com

Darol Robert Anger [1] is an American violinist and founding member of The David Grisman Quintet.

Contents

Career

Darol Anger entered popular music at the age of 21 as a founding member of The David Grisman Quintet. [2] Anger played fiddle to David Grisman's mandolin in The David Grisman Quintet's (DGQ) 1977 debut. He co-founded and named the Turtle Island String Quartet with David Balakrishnan in 1985 and performed, composed, and arranged for the chamber jazz group. He frequently collaborates with fellow DGQ alumnus Mike Marshall.

Anger met pianist Barbara Higbie in Paris and formed a musical partnership with her. Together they released an early record on Windham Hill, Tideline (1982). Two years later, they formed a group called The Darol Anger/Barbara Higbie Quintet with Mike Marshall, Todd Phillips, and Andy Narell. This group performed at the 1984 Montreux Jazz Festival. The quintet later took the name Montreux. After two studio releases, the band broke up in 1990, and Anger continued with the Turtle Island String Quartet, founded in 1985. He still collaborates with Montreux and fellow Psychograss colleague, Mike Marshall, and occasionally also collaborates with Barbara Higbie and Michael Manring.

Using classical, folk, and jazz music as springboards, he currently leads Republic of Strings, founded with Scott Nygaard. He also co-founded The Duo (with Mike Marshall), Psychograss (the bluegrass group including Mike Marshall, mandolin; Todd Phillips, bass; David Grier, guitar; and Tony Trischka, banjo), Fiddlers 4 (with Michael Doucet, Bruce Molsky, violins; and Rushad Eggleston, cello), and Mr. Sun (with Joe Walsh, Grant Gordy, and Aidan O'Donnell). Anger also plays frequently with pianist Phil Aaberg. He has performed or recorded with musicians ranging from Tony Rice, Stephane Grappelli and Mark O'Connor to Marin Alsop, Bill Evans, Nickel Creek, Chris Thile & Punch Brothers, Yonder Mountain String Band, Béla Fleck, Taarka and Anonymous 4. He can also be heard on the NPR's Car Talk theme song. He is a MacDowell and UCross Fellow.

Anger currently lives in Portland, Maine, [3] after moving from his long-time home in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has completed the construction of 2 violins under the guidance of luthier Jonathan Cooper and was in 2010 named Associate Professor at the Berklee College of Music. [4]

In June 2011 he began teaching online at the Online Fiddle School with Darol Anger, as part of the ArtistWorks Academy of Bluegrass.

He was the Artist at Large at the 2018 John Hartford Memorial Festival. [5]

Discography

Darol Anger on stage at the Northwest String Summit on July 21, 2013 Darol Anger July 2013.jpg
Darol Anger on stage at the Northwest String Summit on July 21, 2013
Republic of Strings at DelFest, 2010 Republic of Strings DelFest 2010.jpg
Republic of Strings at DelFest, 2010

Republic of Strings

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References

  1. "ARAN BOAT SONG". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  2. Liane Hansen Bluegrass Fiddling on 'Republic of Strings' npr.org, March 14, 2004
  3. "Darol Anger's Republic of Strings – Home". Republicofstrings.com. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  4. "Faculty Biography: Darol Anger". Berklee. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  5. "John Hartford Memorial Festival - 2018 Lineup". hartfordfest.com. Retrieved June 8, 2018.