Mike Marshall: Concerto for Mandolin, Guitar, Fiddle with Big Band

Mike Marshall is a virtuoso mandolinist as well as an accomplished guitarist and violinist. 

 Born in Western Pennsylvania, he grew up in Florida.  He has worked with David Grisman, Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck, and Stephane Grappelli.   Mike has just released an album with mandolin, fiddle, and jazz orchestra.  For this project, he has recruited arranger and conductor and Yellowjackets saxophonist Bob Mintzer.

JB:  Your new album is very creative and distinctive.  Have (or are there) any mandolin and jazz orchestra albums that have particularly impacted you as a musician?

MM:  I don’t believe I can point to a mandolin and jazz orchestra project from the past. I think what we have done here might be the first of its kind. Of course, I have loved jazz for my whole career and have studied the music and been intensely inspired by so much of it. From the earliest string bands like Django and Stephane Grappelli (Even getting to play with Stephane at age 20!) all the way forward through bebop and modern things like Chick Corea, Weather Report and Pat Metheny. I got to see the Count Basie Orchestra when he was still with us and Jaco Pastorius’ big band around the same time. I love what Hermeto Pascoal has done in this format and of course folks like Vince Mendosa and Bob have paved a new path in arranging that is incredibly inspiring. 

This project is unique in that you have mine and Darol’s deep roots in traditional string band music mixing with the wonderful pallet of colors and this immense sound that is the jazz orchestra. For us, it’s thrilling to be once again breaking new ground, but in a way it’s not really new, because I think it speaks to the fact that so much American music is rooted in the same sources. Whether it’s jazz or rock and roll or country music, you can trace it all back to the basics. European musical forms meeting with the African traditions. You can just see all these endless connections.  Rhythmically, harmonically and melodically. It’s all dipping out of the same well.   

The reasons it was never done is probably mostly because of the volume difference between us on these little string instruments and the overwhelming power and volume that a big band creates. But with modern recording techniques, using iso-booth in the studio and pickups and clip-on mics in the live setting, we are now able to overcome those sonic differences. But when you boil the music down, you are dealing with many of the same components, so it’s a natural fit from a musical point of view.

JB:  Did Bob mention any special orchestration aspects in arranging music with the mandolin out in front of a jazz orchestra?

MM:  We did talk about that in advance, and he chose to orchestrate with that in mind on a few tunes. Using the softer pallet of sounds that the orchestra has available. Flutes and clarinets and such were a really nice mix with our strings. What is so special about what Darol and I do is the intimacy and interaction when we play as a duo. We didn’t want to lose that in the wall of sound that a big band is capable of. I think that Bob really understood that in the way that he approached arranging the band around us. So, we were really lucky to have had him at the helm. Not to mention the fact that we are such huge Yellowjackets fans and have admired everything he’s done for 40-plus years. It was an honor to work with Bob.

JB:  As a mandolinist and guitarist, how did you need to think differently being supported by an entire jazz orchestra?

MM:  You know, when we first rehearsed with the group, they had us in the room with the ensemble, and it was not the best monitoring situation. Darol and I were feeling pretty overwhelmed and not really connected to the band.

So, they moved us into a booth and put headphones on everyone and it was at that point that the rhythm section and I really locked up and the orchestral sound really came together. We really began to play like any other band with the ensemble reacting to us and grooving hard, following our dynamics and such. So, in a way, we didn’t have to adapt too much. I’ve played a lot with drummers and percussionists over the years, so I love interacting with them, and it was a very similar feeling to many musical experiences I’ve had. 

You just need to be ready, because when that band wants to go into high gear and blast it, you better hold on to your pants. After all, their 5^th gear is like a giant wave crashing over you. It’s a tremendous amount of sound that is at first a shock. But of course, it’s thrilling and put us in over the moon to hear our music being transformed into this giant piece of swinging musical sculpture that is the jazz orchestra.

JB:  Was the music Darol, Bob and you composed for this project specifically written for this album?

MM:  Oh no. This is all music that Darol and I had recorded on our many other CDs together over the past 45 years. I gave Bob a big stack of CDs, and he basically picked the things that caught his ear, and he thought would translate well to the jazz orchestra setting. 

I was surprised and thrilled at some of the choices he made. Especially some of the more traditional things.

JB:  How did you come to select “Elzic’s Farewell,” “Yew Piney Mountain” and “Down in the Willow Garden” for the project?

MM:  Bob just picked them! “Elzic’s Farewell” and “Yew Piney Mountain” are traditional old-time fiddle tunes that would be played at a square dance with simple chords and a straight-ahead string band playing two-beat dance grooves.  So yes, we were thrilled that Bob heard something in those that he thought could be transformed into something so contemporary. Of course, Darol and I had already adapted those to our own concept of how to push traditional music forward. Adding counter-lines, reharmonizing, and overlaying different kinds of grooves. We had been doing that for many years. Bob just took it one step further and wrapped that big old orchestra around us.

For “Willow Garden” I had re-harmonized that and stretched some of the phrases for Darol and me many years ago. I sent Bob my chart. I’m not sure he ever heard an original old-time version of it. After the project was finished, I sent him the Doc Watson version, and he was like…’oh wow… that’s different!’

 JB:  I’ve known Marty Ashby for years.  What role did he have in the project?

MM:  I believe he just liked the project when he heard it and decided to release it on his label. We didn’t really have any direct interaction with him during the recording process but I’m very happy that he jumped on board and now we can share this music with the world in CD and LP formats. Thank you, Marty!

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