Tony Rice is one of
bluegrass' most inventive flatpicking guitar players. Although he's displayed a mastery of the genre's traditions,
Rice set the standard for more contemporary styles. A former member of the Bluegrass Alliance, the David Grisman Quintet,
J.D. Crowe's New South, and
the Bluegrass Album Band,
Rice has continued to reflect his eclectic approach on solo recordings, two albums with flatpicking guitar ace
Norman Blake, and two albums, recorded with his brothers Larry, Ron, and Wyatt, as
the Rice Brothers. In 1996,
Rice joined with
Chris Hillman, Herb Pedersen, and his brother Larry to record a tradition-rooted album, Out of the Woodwork.
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Tony Rice is one of
bluegrass' most inventive flatpicking guitar players. Although he's displayed a mastery of the genre's traditions,
Rice set the standard for more contemporary styles. A former member of the Bluegrass Alliance, the David Grisman Quintet,
J.D. Crowe's New South, and
the Bluegrass Album Band,
Rice has continued to reflect his eclectic approach on solo recordings, two albums with flatpicking guitar ace
Norman Blake, and two albums, recorded with his brothers Larry, Ron, and Wyatt, as
the Rice Brothers.
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In 1996,
Rice joined with
Chris Hillman, Herb Pedersen, and his brother Larry to record a tradition-rooted album, Out of the Woodwork.
Raised in Southern California,
Rice inherited his musical skill from his father, who played with several West Coast
bluegrass bands and was heavily influenced by California-based
bluegrass groups, including
the Dillards and
the Kentucky Colonels, which featured influential guitar picker
Clarence White. Moving temporarily to Kentucky in 1970,
Rice became a charter member of the Bluegrass Alliance, one of the earliest contemporary
bluegrass groups. As a member of
J.D. Crowe's New South in the early '70s, along with
Ricky Skaggs and
Jerry Douglas, he continued to promote a new approach to the music of the hill country. After meeting imaginative mandolin player
David Grisman during a jam session in 1975,
Rice returned to California and helped to form the David Grisman Quintet. During the five years that he played with the group,
Rice helped to lay the foundation for the "new grass" style that
Grisman dubbed "Dawg Music."
Rice's albums as a soloist and with his band, the Tony Rice Unit, have ranged from the
jazz-tinged Mar West, which included
bluegrass-style treatments of tunes by
Miles Davis and
John Coltrane, to
singer/songwriter-oriented albums, including
Cold on the Shoulder, Native American, and Me & My Guitar, which featured his virtuosic guitar picking and soulful vocalizing of songs by
Ian Tyson,
Phil Ochs, and
Gordon Lightfoot.
Rice released an album-length collection of
Lightfoot's songs, Sings Gordon Lightfoot, in 1996.
Rice has continued to interpret the
traditional bluegrass repertoire as well, releasing an album of old chestnuts, Plays and Sings Bluegrass, the same year.
Although he's recently experienced vocal problems that have prevented him from singing,
Rice continues to amaze audiences with his masterful guitar playing. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide
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