Jim Van Cleve
Encyclopedia
Jim Van Cleve, born October 12, 1978 in Canton, North Carolina
is an American
fiddle
player, songwriter, session musician, and producer. He is a founding member of the popular band Mountain Heart
, and a Grammy winning session musician and Grammy nominated solo artist.
Van Cleve won many fiddle contests as a youth. While still in high school, Van Cleve became a member of Ric-o-chet and Lou Reid and Carolina, prominent bands in the national bluegrass scene at the time.
In 1997, bluegrass and gospel legend Doyle Lawson
invited Van Cleve to join his group, Quicksilver. Van Cleve left college (UNC-Greensboro) to become the band's new fiddle player.
In 1998, banjo
player Barry Abernathy, singer/guitar
ist Steve Gulley, and Grammy-winning mandolin
ist (formerly of Alison Krauss and Union Station
) Adam Steffey began plans to form a band. Van Cleve came on board and the band Mountain Heart
was formed. Van Cleve has played a major role in the success and popularity of the band, as well as a driving force in creating more complex musical arrangements.
Jim has become highly regarded and much sought after both as a session musician and as a record producer in the worlds of Country and Americana music. Van Cleve has quickly built a broad-ranging and artistically acclaimed body of production work. A partial list of projects Van Cleve has produced:
- Mountain Heart - That Just Happened (Earned a 4 Star Review from COUNTRY MUSIC WEEKLY magazine in 2011)
- *Jim VanCleve - No Apologies (Grammy Nominated, Indie Roots Americana Album of the Year)
- At the Speed of Bluegrass - Bluegrass Blog Theme (Commissioned Theme Song for the world's most heavily traveled Acoustic Music Website)
- **IBMA Awards Show Theme Song - (Commissioned Theme for the International Bluegrass Music Awards Show)
- Mountain Heart - Road That Never Ends
- Monroeville - Monroeville
- Ben & Rose - Self Titled
- Del Shields - Let the Cowboy Sing (Host of Best of America by Horseback, a top rated television show on the RFD Network)
- NewFound Road - Same Old Place
- Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain - CHHR 2
- Acoustic Evolution - Bluegrass Goes Back to the Future (Exclusive Americana Compilation for BORDERS BOOKS and MUSIC)
- Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain - Self Titled
- Mashville Brigade - Smash Hits of Bluegrass, Vol. 1
- Tribute to Taylor Swift - Pickin' on Taylor Swift - CMH
- Clay Jones - Mountain Tradition
The awards nominations for "No Apologies" were many. The lead track, "Nature of the Beast", was nominated for a Grammy Award
in 2006 for "Best Country Instrumental Performance". The first single from the album, Let The Big Dog Eat, was the #1 Song in Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine for three months. The album topped out at number 5 in the Billboard
Bluegrass Sales chart. The project won "Album of the Year" in the Folk category of the Indie Awards. The album was nominated for "Instrumental Project of the Year" in 2007 at the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA)
Awards. Jim was also nominated for "Fiddle Player of the Year" in 2007 for his work on "No Apologies", and the many other recordings he played a part in that year.
Jim was recruited to write an instrumental track for a studio project by Sierra Hull, the young mandolin and vocal prodigy seen on television, either sitting in with Alison Krauss, or as an actress in the new Billy Graham movie. Ron Block (of Alison Krauss and Union Station), and Sierra produced her debut solo project and commissioned Jim to write the song, which eventually was entitled SMASHVILLE. Sierra's album, Secrets, is now available on Rounder Records.
Official Home Page
Jim Van Cleve MySpace Page
Mountain Heart Home Page
Canton, North Carolina
Canton is the second largest town in Haywood County, North Carolina, United States. It is located about west of Asheville, North Carolina and is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is named after the city of Canton, Ohio.- History :...
is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
player, songwriter, session musician, and producer. He is a founding member of the popular band Mountain Heart
Mountain Heart
Mountain Heart is an American folk/rock/country band. The current lineup is:-Awards and recognition:The group's entertainment, instrumental, and vocal prowess are widely acclaimed in bluegrass and other acoustic music circles...
, and a Grammy winning session musician and Grammy nominated solo artist.
Van Cleve won many fiddle contests as a youth. While still in high school, Van Cleve became a member of Ric-o-chet and Lou Reid and Carolina, prominent bands in the national bluegrass scene at the time.
In 1997, bluegrass and gospel legend Doyle Lawson
Doyle Lawson
Doyle Lawson is an American bluegrass and gospel musician. Doyle is best known as an accomplished mandolin player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 5-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.-Biography:...
invited Van Cleve to join his group, Quicksilver. Van Cleve left college (UNC-Greensboro) to become the band's new fiddle player.
In 1998, banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
player Barry Abernathy, singer/guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist Steve Gulley, and Grammy-winning mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
ist (formerly of Alison Krauss and Union Station
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
) Adam Steffey began plans to form a band. Van Cleve came on board and the band Mountain Heart
Mountain Heart
Mountain Heart is an American folk/rock/country band. The current lineup is:-Awards and recognition:The group's entertainment, instrumental, and vocal prowess are widely acclaimed in bluegrass and other acoustic music circles...
was formed. Van Cleve has played a major role in the success and popularity of the band, as well as a driving force in creating more complex musical arrangements.
Jim has become highly regarded and much sought after both as a session musician and as a record producer in the worlds of Country and Americana music. Van Cleve has quickly built a broad-ranging and artistically acclaimed body of production work. A partial list of projects Van Cleve has produced:
- Mountain Heart - That Just Happened (Earned a 4 Star Review from COUNTRY MUSIC WEEKLY magazine in 2011)
- *Jim VanCleve - No Apologies (Grammy Nominated, Indie Roots Americana Album of the Year)
- At the Speed of Bluegrass - Bluegrass Blog Theme (Commissioned Theme Song for the world's most heavily traveled Acoustic Music Website)
- **IBMA Awards Show Theme Song - (Commissioned Theme for the International Bluegrass Music Awards Show)
- Mountain Heart - Road That Never Ends
- Monroeville - Monroeville
- Ben & Rose - Self Titled
- Del Shields - Let the Cowboy Sing (Host of Best of America by Horseback, a top rated television show on the RFD Network)
- NewFound Road - Same Old Place
- Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain - CHHR 2
- Acoustic Evolution - Bluegrass Goes Back to the Future (Exclusive Americana Compilation for BORDERS BOOKS and MUSIC)
- Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain - Self Titled
- Mashville Brigade - Smash Hits of Bluegrass, Vol. 1
- Tribute to Taylor Swift - Pickin' on Taylor Swift - CMH
- Clay Jones - Mountain Tradition
- On May 9, 2006, Van Cleve released his first solo recording, No Apologies. The album won rave reviews and an uncommon amount of press attention.
The awards nominations for "No Apologies" were many. The lead track, "Nature of the Beast", was nominated for 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...
in 2006 for "Best Country Instrumental Performance". The first single from the album, Let The Big Dog Eat, was the #1 Song in Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine for three months. The album topped out at number 5 in the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Bluegrass Sales chart. The project won "Album of the Year" in the Folk category of the Indie Awards. The album was nominated for "Instrumental Project of the Year" in 2007 at the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA)
International Bluegrass Music Association
The International Bluegrass Music Association, or IBMA, is a trade association to promote bluegrass music.Formed in 1985, IBMA established its first headquarters in Owensboro, Kentucky. In 1988 they announced plans to create the International Bluegrass Music Museum as a joint venture with...
Awards. Jim was also nominated for "Fiddle Player of the Year" in 2007 for his work on "No Apologies", and the many other recordings he played a part in that year.
-
- In 2008, VanCleve was recruited to write and record a new Awards Show Theme Song by the IBMA (an honor previously held by the 12-time Grammy winner, Jerry DouglasJerry DouglasJerry 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...
, and Nashville recording legend, Mark O'ConnorMark O'ConnorMark 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...
before him). The new theme song, "Road From Rosine" was debuted at the 2007 IBMA Awards Show at the Ryman AuditoriumRyman AuditoriumThe Ryman Auditorium is a 2,362-seat live performance venue, located at 115 5th Avenue North, in Nashville, Tennessee and is best known as the historic home of the Grand Ole Opry....
in Nashville.
- In 2008, VanCleve was recruited to write and record a new Awards Show Theme Song by the IBMA (an honor previously held by the 12-time Grammy winner, Jerry Douglas
Jim was recruited to write an instrumental track for a studio project by Sierra Hull, the young mandolin and vocal prodigy seen on television, either sitting in with Alison Krauss, or as an actress in the new Billy Graham movie. Ron Block (of Alison Krauss and Union Station), and Sierra produced her debut solo project and commissioned Jim to write the song, which eventually was entitled SMASHVILLE. Sierra's album, Secrets, is now available on Rounder Records.
See also
Official FaceBook PageOfficial Home Page
Jim Van Cleve MySpace Page
Mountain Heart Home Page