Casey Driessen
Encyclopedia
Casey Christopher Driessen (born December 6, 1978 Owatonna
, Minnesota
, United States
) is an American bluegrass
fiddle
r and singer. He plays acoustic and electric five-string
violin
s, each of which has an additional low C string.
He is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music
, where he studied with Matt Glaser
.
He has performed with Béla Fleck
, Abigail Washburn
, Steve Earle
, Tim O'Brien
, Darrell Scott
, Jim Lauderdale
, Lee Ann Womack
, Mark Schatz
, John Doyle
, and Chris Thile
. He has recorded with Darol Anger
, John Mayer
, Jerry Douglas
, Jamey Haddad
, and Blue Merle. He has also recorded on the soundtrack for the Johnny Cash
film Walk the Line
. He has toured with The Duhks
, replacing Tania Elizabeth.
In November 2006 Driessen toured China
and Tibet
with the Sparrow Quartet
(which also includes Béla Fleck
, Abigail Washburn
, and cellist Ben Sollee
). He also has his own band, the Colorfools, which includes Matt Mangano on bass and Tom "Tommy G" Giampietro on drums.
He lives in Nashville, Tennessee
. His first solo recording, 3D, was released in May 2006 on Sugar Hill Records.http://www.caseydriessen.com/3d.html In 2007, the track Jerusalem Ridge received a Grammy Award
nomination for Best Country Instrumental Performance
. With fiddler Darol Anger and Rushad Eggleston
, he has released an instructional DVD entitled Chops & Grooves: Rhythmic Explorations for Bowed Instruments.http://www.homespuntapes.com/prodpg/prodpg.asp?prodID=1268&
He contributed to Crooked Still
's CD Shaken By A Low Sound (2006), and Taarka
's The Martian Picture Soundtrack. Most recently, he released his second solo recording, "Oog" (2009) on Red Shoes Records.
He has attended the Mark O'Connor
fiddle camp as a teacher.
Owatonna, Minnesota
Owatonna is a city in Steele County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 25,599 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Steele County. Owatonna is home to the Steele County Fairgrounds, which hosts the Steele County Free Fair in August....
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) is an American bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
r and singer. He plays acoustic and electric five-string
Five string violin
The Five string violin is a descendant of the traditional four string violin. It consists of a violin-shaped body, neck and pegbox, slightly exaggerated to fit a fifth string....
violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s, each of which has an additional low C string.
He is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
, where he studied with Matt Glaser
Matt Glaser
Matt Glaser is an American jazz and bluegrass violinist. He served as the chair of the string department at the Berklee College of Music for more than twenty-five years. He is now the founder and artistic director of Berklee's American Roots Music Program....
.
He has performed with Béla Fleck
Béla Fleck
Béla Anton Leoš Fleck is an American banjo player. Widely acknowledged as one of the world's most innovative and technically proficient banjo players, he is best known for his work with the bands New Grass Revival and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones.-Early life and career details:Fleck was born in...
, Abigail Washburn
Abigail Washburn
Abigail Washburn is an American clawhammer banjo player and singer. She performs and records as a soloist, as well as with the old-time bands Uncle Earl and Sparrow Quartet.-Biography:...
, Steve Earle
Steve Earle
Stephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
, Tim O'Brien
Tim O'Brien (musician)
Tim O'Brien is an American country and bluegrass musician. In addition to singing, he plays guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, bouzouki and mandocello...
, Darrell Scott
Darrell Scott
James Darrell Scott known as Darrell Scott , the son of musician Wayne Scott with whom he has collaborated, is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He moved as a child to East Gary, Indiana. He was playing professionally by his teens in Southern California, later living in...
, Jim Lauderdale
Jim Lauderdale
Jim Lauderdale is a musician & singer-songwriter who performs bluegrass and country music. He has recorded since 1986 and has released nineteen studio albums. Artists who have recorded his material include George Strait and Patty Loveless.-Biography:...
, Lee Ann Womack
Lee Ann Womack
Lee Ann Womack is an American country music singer and songwriter, who is best known for her old fashioned-styled country music songs that often discuss subjects such as cheating and lost love....
, Mark Schatz
Mark Schatz
Mark Schatz is an American bassist, banjoist, mandolinist, and clogger who has recorded and toured with artists such as albums for artists such as Bela Fleck, Nickel Creek, Jerry Douglas, Maura O'Connell, Tony Rice, John Hartford, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, and Tim O'Brien...
, John Doyle
John Doyle (musician)
John Doyle is an Irish musician and songwriter. For four years he served as acoustic guitarist with the Irish/American band Solas. He is now an active solo artist...
, and Chris Thile
Chris Thile
Christopher Scott Thile is an American musician, best known as the mandolinist and a singer for the progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek. His current band is Punch Brothers whose most recent album is Antifogmatic...
. He has recorded with Darol Anger
Darol Anger
-Career:Darol Anger entered popular music at the age of 21 as a founding member of The David Grisman Quintet. Anger played fiddle to David Grisman's mandolin in The David Grisman Quintet's 1977 debut. He co-founded the Turtle Island String Quartet with David Balakrishnan in 1985 and performed,...
, John Mayer
John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
, Jerry Douglas
Jerry Douglas
Jerry Douglas may refer to:*Jerry Douglas , actor, who was on The Young and the Restless for 25 years*Jerry Douglas, country/bluegrass musician*Jerry Douglas , director and writer of adult films such as, Score...
, Jamey Haddad
Jamey Haddad
Jamey George Haddad is an American percussionist working primarily in the fields of jazz and world music, and specializing in hand drums.-Biography:...
, and Blue Merle. He has also recorded on the soundtrack for the Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
film Walk the Line
Walk the Line
Walk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold and based on the early life and career of country music artist Johnny Cash...
. He has toured with The Duhks
The Duhks
The Duhks is a band from Winnipeg, Canada.The members play a blend of Canadian soul, gospel, North American folk, Brazilian samba, old time country string band, zydeco, and Irish dance music. Hailing from Winnipeg, Manitoba, their music draws heavily on all of the North American musical traditions,...
, replacing Tania Elizabeth.
In November 2006 Driessen toured China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
with the Sparrow Quartet
Sparrow Quartet
The Sparrow Quartet is an American acoustic music group that formed in 2005. Its members include Abigail Washburn , Béla Fleck , Casey Driessen , and Ben Sollee...
(which also includes Béla Fleck
Béla Fleck
Béla Anton Leoš Fleck is an American banjo player. Widely acknowledged as one of the world's most innovative and technically proficient banjo players, he is best known for his work with the bands New Grass Revival and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones.-Early life and career details:Fleck was born in...
, Abigail Washburn
Abigail Washburn
Abigail Washburn is an American clawhammer banjo player and singer. She performs and records as a soloist, as well as with the old-time bands Uncle Earl and Sparrow Quartet.-Biography:...
, and cellist Ben Sollee
Ben Sollee
Ben Sollee is a cellist and vocalist known for his percussive playing style, genre hopping songwriting, wide appeal, and political activism. His music incorporates banjo, guitar, percussion and unusual cello techniques to create a unique mix of folk, bluegrass, jazz and R&B.-Musical career:Raised...
). He also has his own band, the Colorfools, which includes Matt Mangano on bass and Tom "Tommy G" Giampietro on drums.
He lives in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. His first solo recording, 3D, was released in May 2006 on Sugar Hill Records.http://www.caseydriessen.com/3d.html In 2007, the track Jerusalem Ridge received a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nomination for Best Country Instrumental Performance
Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance was awarded from 1970 to 2011. Between 1986 and 1989 the award was presented as the Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance ....
. With fiddler Darol Anger and Rushad Eggleston
Rushad Eggleston
Rushad Eggleston is a contemporary improvisational cellist.Eggleston, a graduate of Carmel High School in Carmel, California, United States, played the cello as a member of the Youth Music Monterey orchestra in Monterey Bay. Later he attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts,...
, he has released an instructional DVD entitled Chops & Grooves: Rhythmic Explorations for Bowed Instruments.http://www.homespuntapes.com/prodpg/prodpg.asp?prodID=1268&
He contributed to Crooked Still
Crooked Still
Crooked Still is an alternative bluegrass band consisting of vocalist Aoife O'Donovan, banjo player Dr. Gregory Liszt, bassist Corey DiMario, cellist Tristan Clarridge and fiddler Brittany Haas...
's CD Shaken By A Low Sound (2006), and Taarka
Taarka
Taarka is a Portland, Oregon-based musical group, originally formed in 2001 by the husband/wife team of David Tiller and Enion Pelta-Tiller . The group originally included Jarrod Kaplan and James Whiton bass. Since their departure Taarka has largely consisted of a rotating membership...
's The Martian Picture Soundtrack. Most recently, he released his second solo recording, "Oog" (2009) on Red Shoes Records.
He has attended the Mark O'Connor
Mark O'Connor
Mark O'Connor is an American bluegrass, jazz, country and classical violinist fiddler, composer and music teacher. O'Connor's music is wide-ranging, critically acclaimed, and he has received numerous awards for both his playing and his composition...
fiddle camp as a teacher.