Bruce Molsky

Bruce Molsky playing the fiddle in 2009

Bruce C. Molsky (born 1955, New York City) is an American fiddler, banjo player, guitarist, and singer. He primarily performs old-time music of the Appalachian region.[1]

Molsky was born in 1955 at New York Infirmary in Manhattan, and grew up in The Bronx. His father, Milton, a mechanical engineer, was a first-generation American descendant of Jewish immigrants from Poland.

As a young man, Molsky first became interested in blues music, but eventually became absorbed in old-time music while studying engineering at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, beginning in 1972. His playing was influenced by the fiddling of Tommy Jarrell, whom Molsky visited in North Carolina in 1976. He recorded with Bob Carlin in 1990.

Molsky has released several records on Rounder Records under his own name. He recorded with Beverly Smith and Rafe Stefanini as Bruce Molsky and Big Hoedown, in 1997. He has also appeared in instructional videos teaching old time fiddle, both solo and with Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer.

Besides his solo recordings he has also played with the bands Fiddlers 4 and Mozaik and played in many concerts and festivals. He collaborated in 2008 with Norwegian hardingfele player and composer Annbjørg Lien on her CD Waltz With Me and subsequent concerts. He also appears as a guest artist on Andy Statman's 2011 double-CD, "Old Brooklyn" (Shefa Records).

Molsky and his wife Audrey reside in Beacon, NY.

References

  1. Lieberman, Julie Lyonn (2004). Alternative Strings: The New Curriculum. Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 56–. ISBN 9781574670899. Retrieved 5 August 2012.

External links