Mike Marshall (born 1957) is a mandolin player, composer, and teacher. He played in the David Grisman Quintet from 1985 to 1990, founded the Modern Mandolin Quartet in 1985, and co-founded the bands Montreux and Psychograss with fiddler Darol Anger. He plays bluegrass, classical, jazz, and Brazilian choro, and he has taught thousands of players through online lessons.
Why Marshall matters
Marshall is the great generalist of the mandolin. He can play a fiddle tune with a bluegrass band, a Bach suite on mandocello, and a Brazilian choro with a guitar duo, all at a high level. His Modern Mandolin Quartet treats the mandolin family like a classical string quartet, and the group earned a Grammy nomination in 2013. For pickers, his lessons are a clear path from bluegrass basics into other styles.
Life and career
Marshall was born on July 17, 1957, in New Castle, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Lakeland, Florida. At 18 he won Florida state contests on both fiddle and mandolin. Hearing David Grisman’s mix of bluegrass, jazz, and Latin music changed his life. He moved to California, worked with Grisman on film music, and joined the David Grisman Quintet, playing from 1985 to 1990. On tour he played beside Tony Rice, Mark O’Connor, Jerry Douglas, Béla Fleck, Stéphane Grappelli, and Darol Anger.
In 1985 he founded the Modern Mandolin Quartet with mandolinist Dana Rath to play serious concert music for mandolins. With Anger he founded Montreux, with Barbara Higbie and Michael Manring, and later Psychograss, which made its first album in 1993 with Todd Phillips and Joe Craven. His first solo album, Gator Strut, came out in 1989. He has played Brazilian music with Choro Famoso and on the album Brazil: Duets.
In 2003 he and Chris Thile made the duet album Into the Cauldron. He plays and teaches with German classical mandolinist Caterina Lichtenberg, and the two run mandolin retreats and online lessons through ArtistWorks. He has also adapted Bach’s cello suites for his 1984 Monteleone mandocello.
Playing style
Marshall’s tone is clean and full, and his technique is complete. He has a classical player’s control of tremolo and dynamics, a bluegrass player’s drive, and a jazz player’s ear for harmony. In choro he plays the fast, ornamented lines of the Brazilian bandolim tradition.
His main mandolin is a 1924 Gibson F-5 signed by Lloyd Loar. On bluegrass tunes he keeps the melody clear and adds variations on repeats.
Influences and legacy
Marshall found his direction in David Grisman. He has worked for decades with Darol Anger, and he played beside Tony Rice, Mark O’Connor, and Stéphane Grappelli in the Grisman band.
He made a duet album with Chris Thile when Thile was in his early twenties. Psychograss included guitarist David Grier in some lineups. Andy Statman and Frank Wakefield also stretched the mandolin beyond bluegrass.
Essential recordings
Gator Strut (1989) Psychograss, with Psychograss (1993) Pan American Journeys, with the Modern Mandolin Quartet (1993) Into the Cauldron, with Chris Thile (2003) Brazil: Duets
Awards and honors
Florida state fiddle and mandolin contest champion, at age 18 Grammy nomination, Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance, with the Modern Mandolin Quartet (2013)
Watch and listen
Marshall plays Angeline the Baker for ArtistWorks. Watch how he varies the melody on each pass.
What to learn from Marshall
Learn Angeline the Baker plain. Then play it four times, adding one change each pass: a double stop, a slide, an octave jump, a bit of tremolo. Marshall’s lesson is that variation is a skill you can practice, one small idea at a time.
Sources
Mike Marshall (musician), Wikipedia Mike Marshall official site Modern Mandolin Quartet, Wikipedia Psychograss, Wikipedia
Related players
See the mandolin players hub and the mandolin guide. Marshall followed David Grisman and recorded with Chris Thile. John Reischman is another West Coast melodic stylist.