Tony Rice
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is for the guitarist. For the former football player see Tony Rice (football player).
| Tony Rice | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Born | June 8, 1951 in Danville, Virginia |
| Genre(s) | Bluegrass, Country, Folk |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar |
| Years active | 1970 - present |
| Label(s) | Rounder |
| Website | Official website |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Santa Cruz Tony Rice Signature model | |
Tony Rice (born as David Anthony Rice on June 8, 1951 in Danville, Virginia) is an acoustic guitarist and bluegrass musician.
Rice spans the range of acoustic music, from traditional bluegrass to jazz-influenced "Spacegrass" music, to songwriter-oriented folk. Over the course of his career, he has played alongside J. D. Crowe and the New South, David Grisman (during the formation of “Dawg Music”), led his own Tony Rice Unit, collaborated with Norman Blake and recorded with his brothers. He has recorded with drums, piano, soprano sax, as well as with traditional Bluegrass instrumentation.
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[edit] Biography
Rice was born in Danville, Virginia but grew up in California, where he was introduced to bluegrass by his father, a semi-professional musician named Herb Rice. Tony and his brothers learned the fundamentals of bluegrass and country music from hot L.A. pickers like the Kentucky Colonels, led by Roland and Clarence White. Crossing paths with fellow enthusiasts like Ry Cooder, Herb Pederson and Chris Hillman reinforced the strength of the music he had learned from his father.
In 1970, Rice had moved to Louisville, Kentucky where he played with the Bluegrass Alliance, and shortly thereafter, J.D. Crowe's New South. The New South was known as one of the best and most progressive bluegrass groups - eventually adding drums and electric instruments (to Rice's displeasure). But when Ricky Skaggs joined up in 1974, the band recorded "J. D. Crowe & the New South", an acoustic album that became Rounder’s top-seller up to that time. At this point, the group consisted of Rice on guitar and lead vocals, Crowe on banjo and vocals, Jerry Douglas on Dobro, Skaggs on fiddle, mandolin, and tenor vocals, and Bobby Slone on bass and fiddle.
Around this time, Rice met mandolinist David Grisman, who played with Red Allen during the '60’s and was now working on some original material that blended jazz, bluegrass and classical styles. Rice left the New South and moved to California to join Grisman’s all-instrumental group. As part of the David Grisman Quintet, Rice expanded his musical horizons beyond three chord bluegrass, studying chord theory, learning to read charts and expanding the range of his playing. Renowned guitarist John Carlini was brought in to teach Rice music theory, and Carlini helped him learn the intricacies of jazz playing and musical improvisation in general. The David Grisman Quintet's 1977 debut recording is considered a landmark of acoustic string band music.
In 1979, Rice left Grisman's group to pursue his own brand of music. He recorded "Acoustics", a jazz-inspired acoustic record, and then "Manzanita", a collection of vocals and instrumentals, mostly in the bluegrass style, but excluding the five-string banjo. In 1980, Rice, Crowe, Bobby Hicks, Doyle Lawson and Todd Phillips formed a highly successful coalition, attacking bluegrass standards under the name the Bluegrass Album Band. This group recorded six volumes of music from 1980 to 1996.
Rice’s solo career hit its stride with "Cold on the Shoulder", a collection of bluegrass-inspired vocals. With this album, "Native American" and "Me & My Guitar", Rice arrived at a formula that incorporated his disparate influences, combining bluegrass, the songwriting of folk artists like Ian Tyson, Joni Mitchell, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Bob Dylan and especially Gordon Lightfoot, with nimble, jazz-inflected guitar work. Simultaneously, he pursued his jazz-infused, experimental “spacegrass” with the Tony Rice Unit on the albums "Mar West", "Still Inside", and "Backwaters".
Two highly regarded albums with traditional instrumentalist and songwriter Norman Blake garnered a great deal of acclaim, as well as two Rice Brothers albums that featured him teamed with his late elder brother, Larry and younger brothers, Wyatt and Ronnie. 2007 saw Tony team up with Alison Krauss and Union Station for a string of spring concerts, drawing material from Rice's 35 year career. Krauss always has cited Rice as being her prime musical influence.
Rice’s most recent recording for Rounder is "Quartet", the second collaboration with bluegrass and newgrass legend Peter Rowan. Despite recent problems with his voice related to dysphonia, Tony Rice remains one of new acoustic music's top instrumentalists, bringing originality and vitality to everything he plays.
[edit] Discography
- Guitar (1970)
- J. D. Crowe & the New South (1974) as J. D. Crowe & the New South
- California Autumn (1975)
- The David Grisman Rounder Album (1976) with David Grisman
- Tony Rice (1977)
- The David Grisman Quintet (1977) as The David Grisman Quintet
- Acoustics (1979)
- Manzanita (1979)
- Hot Dawg (1979) with David Grisman
- Mar West (1980) as Tony Rice Unit
- Skaggs & Rice (1980) with Ricky Skaggs
- Bluegrass Album (1981) as Bluegrass Album Band
- Still Inside (1981) as Tony Rice Unit
- Backwaters (1982) as Tony Rice Unit
- Bluegrass Album, Vol. 2 (1982) as Bluegrass Album Band
- Bluegrass Album, Vol. 3: California Connection (1983) as Bluegrass Album Band
- Church Street Blues (1983)
- Bluegrass Album, Vol. 4 (1984) as Bluegrass Album Band
- Cold on the Shoulder (1984)
- Me & My Guitar (1986)
- Devlin (1987) as Tony Rice Unit
- Blake & Rice (1987) with Norman Blake
- Native American (1988)
- Bluegrass Album, Vol. 5: Sweet Sunny South (1989) as Bluegrass Album Band
- Norman Blake and Tony Rice 2 (1987) with Norman Blake
- The Rice Brothers (1992) as The Rice Brothers
- Plays and Sings Bluegrass (1993)
- Tone Poems (1994) with David Grisman
- Crossings (1994)
- The Rice Brothers 2 (1994) as The Rice Brothers
- River Suite for Two Guitars (1995) with John Calini
- Sings Gordon Lightfoot (1996)
- Bluegrass Album, Vol. 6: Bluegrass Instrumentals (1996) as Bluegrass Album Band
- Out Of The Woodwork (1997) as Rice, Rice, Hillman & Pedersen
- Rice, Rice, Hillman & Pedersen (1999) as Rice, Rice, Hillman & Pedersen
- Unit of Measure (2000) as Tony Rice Unit
- The Pizza Tapes (2000) with David Grisman & Jerry Garcia
- Runnin' Wild (2001) as Rice, Rice, Hillman & Pedersen
- 58957:The Bluegrass Guitar Collection (2003}
- You Were There For Me (2004) with Peter Rowan
- Crossings (2006) (reissue)
- Quartet (2007) with Peter Rowan
[edit] Awards
[edit] Grammy Awards
- Best Country Instrumental Performance - The New South, Fireball - 1983
[edit] IBMA(International Bluegrass Music Association) Awards
- Instrumental Performer of the Year - Guitar - 1990, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2007
- Instrumental Group of the Year - The Tony Rice Unit - 1991, 1995
- Instrumental Group of the Year - The Bluegrass Album Band - 1990
- Instrumental Album of the Year - Bluegrass Instrumentals, Volume 6(Rounder) ; The Bluegrass Album Band - 1997
