Grant Gordy is a guitarist from Eugene, Oregon, who held the guitar chair in the David Grisman Quintet for six years, from 2007 to 2013. That chair once belonged to Tony Rice. In 2013 he co-founded the band Mr. Sun with fiddler Darol Anger and mandolinist Joe K. Walsh. He now lives in Brooklyn, plays in the New York jazz scene, and teaches improvising to guitarists.
Why Gordy matters
Gordy is a flatpicker who studied jazz harmony and brought it back to string band music. He can play a Bill Monroe tune straight, and he can improvise through the chord changes of a tune without leaning on stock licks. Bluegrass Today said his playing sounds like “extraterrestrial arithmetic,” and David Grisman put him in the “new elite of American acoustic practitioners.” For a jammer who wants to improvise past the melody, Gordy shows what the guitar can do with real harmony.
Life and career
Gordy was born in Eugene, Oregon. His father gave him an acoustic guitar when he was 13, and he taught himself to play. In 2006 Edgar Meyer picked him as one of 15 young musicians for the “Porous Borders of Music” workshop at Carnegie Hall, where he debuted two original pieces at Zankel Hall.
In 2007 David Grisman hired him for the David Grisman Quintet, later the Sextet. He toured with Grisman for six years. He calls the job an apprenticeship that launched his own career. In February 2014 he announced his departure. He had moved to New York City, and he said the distance made it hard for the band to rehearse. He released a self-titled debut album in 2010 while still in the Quintet.
In 2013 he formed Mr. Sun with Darol Anger, Joe K. Walsh, and bassist Ethan Jodziewicz. The band released The People Need Light on Compass Records in 2015 and Extrovert on Compass in 2022, with Aidan O’Donnell on bass by then. He also formed a two-guitar duo with Ross Martin. Their album Year of the Dog came out in late 2016, and in 2022 the duo received a Chamber Music America grant funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Gordy’s other projects include Peripheral Visions, a quartet record, and Our Delight (2022) with mandolinist Jacob Jolliff, which reached number ten on the Billboard bluegrass chart. He played guitar in the Peregrines, a bluegrass band with members on both sides of the Atlantic that toured Europe. His own band has featured Alex Hargreaves on fiddle and Dominick Leslie on mandolin. He has performed with Tony Trischka, Andy Statman, Karan Casey, and Matt Flinner, and he has recorded with Jayme Stone.
Playing style
Gordy plays bluegrass guitar with a jazz player’s ear for harmony. His lines follow the chord changes instead of staying inside one scale. Compass Records notes that he gets room to stretch on the angular Mr. Sun tune A Real Dragon, and that tune is a fair sample of his range. Fretboard Journal wrote that he “sounds like nobody but himself,” and No Depression called his voice on the guitar singular and worth your attention.
He plays both acoustic and electric guitar, solo acoustic sets on one night and New York jazz gigs on the next. His teaching centers on fretboard mapping, which means knowing every chord tone in every position so a solo can go anywhere.
Influences and legacy
Gordy names David Grisman, Darol Anger, Danny Barnes, Edgar Meyer, Tony Trischka, Joe K. Walsh, Ron Miles, and Tony Rice as influences. He also points to the Black string bands of the 1930s and to film music like the Pink Panther theme. When he left Grisman, he spoke about following Rice, John Carlini, and Mark O’Connor in that guitar chair.
He passes the approach on through private lessons, workshops, and the Improvising Guitarist Academy. He has recorded with Jacob Jolliff and Jayme Stone, and his band has given a stage to younger players like Alex Hargreaves.
Signature tunes and songs
A Real Dragon, with Mr. Sun Tamp ‘Em Up Solid, with Mr. Sun Year of the Dog, with Ross Martin.
Essential recordings
Grant Gordy (2010) The People Need Light, Mr. Sun (Compass, 2015) Year of the Dog, with Ross Martin (2016) Extrovert, Mr. Sun (Compass, 2022) Our Delight, with Jacob Jolliff (2022)
Awards and honors
Selected for Edgar Meyer’s “Porous Borders of Music” workshop at Carnegie Hall (2006) Chamber Music America grant, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, with Ross Martin (2022)
What to learn from Gordy
Learn Tamp ‘Em Up Solid from Extrovert. It is a traditional song, so the tune is easy, and you can hear how Gordy dresses a simple form with new chords. The technique to steal is chord-tone soloing. Take a fiddle tune you know in G. Before you play the break, name the notes of each chord. Then build a solo that lands on a chord tone at every change. It will sound plain at first. Keep at it, and you will start to hear the harmony under every tune you play. That is the skill behind everything Gordy does.
Sources
Grant Gordy, Wikipedia About, Grant Gordy official site Grant Gordy leaves David Grisman, Bluegrass Today Grant Gordy archives, Bluegrass Today Mr. Sun, Compass Records The People Need Light, Compass Records store Extrovert, Compass Records store
Related players
See the guitar players hub and the guitar guide for more flatpickers. Gordy held the David Grisman Quintet guitar chair that Tony Rice made famous. His Mr. Sun bandmate Darol Anger is one of the founders of new acoustic music. Jon Stickley and Chris Eldridge are two more guitarists who take bluegrass into new acoustic music.