Butch Baldassari (1952 to 2009) was a mandolin player, composer, teacher, and label owner. He played in the bluegrass bands Weary Hearts and Lonesome Standard Time, and in Richard Greene’s Grass is Greener. In 1990 he founded the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble, which revived the 19th-century mandolin orchestra. He taught mandolin at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music and ran his own label, SoundArt Recordings.
Why Baldassari matters
Baldassari pushed bluegrass mandolin players to read music and learn the instrument’s whole history. He showed that the mandolin had a concert tradition long before Bill Monroe, and he brought that tradition back to life in Nashville. He also kept one foot in hard bluegrass. His 2002 orchestral piece Blue Moon Over Kentucky wove Monroe tunes like Roanoke and Rawhide into a work for symphony.
Life and career
Baldassari was born on December 11, 1952, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He played guitar in rock bands as a teen with his brother. In 1972, at a folk festival, he saw Andy Statman with David Bromberg and Barry Mitterhoff with the Bottle Hill Boys, and he switched to mandolin.
While doing graduate work at the University of Nevada, he joined the bluegrass band Weary Hearts with Ron Block, Mike Bub, and Chris Jones. SPBGMA named them Best Bluegrass Band in 1988. He moved to Nashville and in 1990 founded the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble, eleven players on mandolin, mandola, mandocello, guitar, and bass. They recorded Plectrasonics (1995), All the Rage (1998), and Bach, Beatles, Bluegrass (2004).
From 1992 to 1998 he played in Lonesome Standard Time with Larry Cordle and Glen Duncan. Their first album was Grammy-nominated, and the song Lonesome Standard Time won IBMA Song of the Year in 1993. He then played with fiddler Richard Greene in the Grass is Greener, whose 1997 album Sales Tax Toddle also earned a Grammy nomination. He made many instruction books and videos for Homespun.
He was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2007 and died in Nashville on January 10, 2009, at 56. His last album, Leavin’ Tennessee with guitarist Van Manakas, came out on SoundArt in 2010 with Bobby Hicks and Stuart Duncan.
Playing style
Baldassari played with a clean, singing tone and careful control. He used the classical player’s tremolo and dynamics, and he could read and play complex written parts. In bluegrass bands he played crisp, melodic breaks that served the song.
He wrote tunes for the mandolin in many styles, from waltzes to Celtic airs to bluegrass breakdowns. His duet albums with guitarists John Mock and John Carlini show his gentle, chamber-music side.
Influences and legacy
Baldassari came to mandolin after hearing Andy Statman and Barry Mitterhoff. He played beside Ron Block, Chris Jones, Larry Cordle, Glen Duncan, Richard Greene, Bobby Hicks, and Stuart Duncan.
His students at Vanderbilt and his Homespun lessons reached many players. He recorded Travellers (2004) with Robin Bullock and John Reischman, and he co-produced the Pa’s Fiddle Project, which recorded the tunes from the Little House books.
Signature tunes and songs
Blue Moon Over Kentucky Lonesome Standard Time.
Essential recordings
By Heart, with Weary Hearts (Flying Fish, 1989) Lonesome River Band, with Lonesome Standard Time (Sugar Hill, 1992) Old Town (Rebel, 1994) Plectrasonics, with the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble (CMH, 1995) Leavin’ Tennessee, with Van Manakas (SoundArt, 2010)
Awards and honors
SPBGMA Best Bluegrass Band, with Weary Hearts (1988) IBMA Song of the Year, Lonesome Standard Time, with Lonesome Standard Time (1993) Grammy nomination, Lonesome River Band, with Lonesome Standard Time Grammy nomination, Sales Tax Toddle, with Richard Greene and the Grass is Greener
Watch and listen
Baldassari plays Waltz for Bill Monroe. Listen to his tone and control.
What to learn from Baldassari
Learn one tune from written music, not by ear. Pick a waltz, read it at a slow tempo, and pay attention to every dynamic and tremolo marking. Baldassari believed bluegrass players gain a lot from reading, and playing a written piece trains your control and tone in ways that jamming alone does not.
Sources
Butch Baldassari, Wikipedia Butch Baldassari: Mandolin player whose work encompassed several musical genres, The Independent A final word from Butch Baldassari, Bluegrass Today
Related players
See the mandolin players hub and the mandolin guide. Baldassari found the mandolin through Andy Statman. He recorded with John Reischman. Mike Marshall also founded a classical mandolin group.