Mark Schatz (born 1955) is a bass player, clawhammer banjo player, and dancer. He won IBMA Bass Player of the Year in 1994 and 1995. He has played bass with Béla Fleck, the Tony Rice Unit, Tim O’Brien, Nickel Creek, and the Claire Lynch Band. He has also taught bluegrass bass through Homespun courses for beginners.
Why Schatz matters
Schatz connects the bass to the rest of the old-time and bluegrass world. He plays in progressive bands, teaches beginners, plays clawhammer banjo on his own records, and dances. His career shows a bass player can be the musical director, not just the sideman: he led the music for the Footworks dance troupe.
Life and career
Schatz was born on April 23, 1955, in Philadelphia and grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts, near Boston. He studied music theory and composition at Haverford College from 1973 to 1978 and then spent a year at Berklee.
In 1978 he formed Tasty Licks with Béla Fleck, Pat Enright, Jack Tottle, and Stacy Phillips. He moved to Nashville in the early 1980s and formed Spectrum with Fleck and Jimmy Gaudreau. He played electric bass in country bands, then joined the Tony Rice Unit in 1985. From 1990 to 1998 he played with Tim and Mollie O’Brien as one of the O’Boys.
He released his first solo album, Brand New Old Tyme Way, on Rounder in 1995, produced by Fleck. He toured with Nickel Creek from 2003 to 2007 and again in 2014. He joined the Claire Lynch Band in 2008. In 2021 he released Grit and Polish with guitarist Bryan McDowell. In 2023 he toured with Fleck’s My Bluegrass Heart band.
Playing style
Schatz plays both upright and electric bass, and he plays clawhammer banjo well enough to feature it on his records. His banjo is heard on the theme for the IBMA awards show. He also performs hambone and clogging, so he hears the beat as a dancer does.
Influences and legacy
Schatz played beside Béla Fleck, Tony Rice, Tim O’Brien, Chris Thile, Jerry Douglas, and John Hartford. His band Mark Schatz and Friends included Casey Driessen, Missy Raines, and Jim Hurst. Like Todd Phillips, he played bass in the Tony Rice Unit.
Essential recordings
Brand New Old Tyme Way (Rounder, 1995) Steppin’ in the Boiler House (Rounder, 2006) Grit and Polish, with Bryan McDowell (Patuxent, 2021)
Awards and honors
IBMA Bass Player of the Year (1994, 1995)
Watch and listen
Schatz introduces his Homespun courses for beginning and intermediate bluegrass bass.
Schatz and Edgar Meyer play a bass duet on one bass in 1990.
What to learn from Schatz
Start where his beginner course starts: root and fifth, in time, on a song your jam plays. Then add one walk per chord change. Schatz also clogs and plays hambone, so try this: tap the beat with your foot as a dancer would while you play. Feeling the beat in your body is the fastest way to make a bass line steady.
Sources
Mark Schatz, Wikipedia Schatz, Mark, BluegrassBios.com Awards by Category, IBMA
Related players
See the bass players hub and the bass guide. Todd Phillips also played bass in the Tony Rice Unit, and Edgar Meyer shares the duet in the video above. Roy Huskey Jr. won the IBMA bass award the four years before him.