Edgar Meyer (born 1960) is a double bassist and composer who moves between classical music and newgrass. He played bass in the progressive bluegrass band Strength in Numbers from 1986 to 1992 with Sam Bush, Béla Fleck, Jerry Douglas, and Mark O’Connor. He won a MacArthur Fellowship in 2002 and is the only bassist to receive the Avery Fisher Prize. His duets and trios with Chris Thile have won Grammy Awards.
Why Meyer matters
Meyer showed what the bass can do when a virtuoso plays it in a string band. In Strength in Numbers and at Telluride, he plays melody, takes solos, and bows lines as a lead instrument. He also teaches. At the Curtis Institute of Music he taught Paul Kowert, now the bass player in Punch Brothers.
Life and career
Meyer was born on November 24, 1960, and grew up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. His father, Edgar Meyer Sr., directed the string program in the local schools and taught him to play the bass from age five. He studied with Stuart Sankey at Indiana University and graduated in 1984.
From 1986 to 1992 he played in Strength in Numbers with Bush, Fleck, Douglas, and O’Connor. The band made The Telluride Sessions in 1989. In 1993 he recorded Skip, Hop and Wobble with Jerry Douglas and Russ Barenberg. With Yo-Yo Ma and Mark O’Connor he made Appalachia Waltz (1996) and a 2000 follow-up that won the Grammy for Best Classical Crossover Album.
He later formed a long partnership with Chris Thile. The Goat Rodeo Sessions with Thile, Yo-Yo Ma, and Stuart Duncan won Grammys, and Bass and Mandolin with Thile won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. He is a member of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival house band with Bush, Fleck, Douglas, Duncan, and Bryan Sutton. He teaches at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music and the Curtis Institute.
Playing style
Meyer plays with classical training, bow and fingers alike. The MacArthur Foundation describes his music as fusing classical and bluegrass styles and broadening the technical range of the bass. He has recorded Bach’s unaccompanied cello suites on the double bass, which the foundation says turns the bass into a solo classical instrument.
Influences and legacy
Meyer learned from his father and from Stuart Sankey. He has played beside Sam Bush, Béla Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Mark O’Connor, Stuart Duncan, Chris Thile, Russ Barenberg, and Mike Marshall. His student Paul Kowert took his approach into Punch Brothers.
Essential recordings
The Telluride Sessions, Strength in Numbers (1989) Skip, Hop and Wobble, with Jerry Douglas and Russ Barenberg (1993) Appalachia Waltz, with Yo-Yo Ma and Mark O’Connor (1996) Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile (2008) Bass and Mandolin, with Chris Thile (2014)
Awards and honors
Avery Fisher Career Grant (1994) Avery Fisher Prize (2000) Grammy Award, Best Classical Crossover Album, with Yo-Yo Ma and Mark O’Connor (2000) MacArthur Fellowship (2002) Grammy Award, Best Folk Album, The Goat Rodeo Sessions Grammy Award, Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, Bass and Mandolin (2015)
Watch and listen
Meyer and Mark Schatz play a duet on a single bass in 1990.
What to learn from Meyer
Learn a fiddle tune melody on the bass, such as Salt Creek or Red Haired Boy. Play it slow with the bow, then pizzicato. It will force you to learn the whole neck and to play in tune above the fifth fret. Meyer’s lesson is that the bass can carry the tune, not just the root.
Sources
Edgar Meyer, Wikipedia Edgar Meyer, MacArthur Foundation Edgar Meyer, Indiana University Honors and Awards
Related players
See the bass players hub and the bass guide. Paul Kowert studied with him. Mark Schatz shares the duet above, and Todd Phillips also bridged jazz and bluegrass bass.