Jody Stecher
Encyclopedia
Jody Stecher is an American singer and musician, who plays bluegrass
and old-time music
on banjo, mandolin, fiddle and guitar, and Dagar-vani dhrupad
on the sursringar, a rare Indian instrument that is a baritone relative of the sarod
.
Jonathan Allan Stecher was born in Brooklyn
, New York. At the age of twelve he acquired a dusty fretless Gatcomb in an antique shop and bought it for two dollars. After gaining a solid grounding in bluegrass, cajun, blues and Scottish folk music, he studied Hindustani classical music
for 3 years with Ali Akbar Khan
and for 10 years with Zia Mohiuddin Dagar. He has collaborated with Krishna Bhatt
on an unusual album of fusion music "Rasa" (1982). He met Kate Brislin (a former member of "Any Old time string Band") in 1974 and started performing actively as a duo in 1985; they married on 29 July 1987. He is regarded as one of the leading traditional folk artists in America and his recordings have served a large and diverse group of musicians, including Jerry Jeff Walker
, Jerry Garcia
, David Grisman
, Peter Rowan, Martin Simpson
, Seldom Scene, Laurie Lewis
, Kathy Kallick, Alasdair Fraser
and Hot Rize
. He has also written liner notes for many albums.
David Bromberg
once said, "Jody Stecher was basically my teacher. He opened my ears to more beautiful music than anyone else ever did... more than I ever knew existed. He is also one of my favorite musicians on Earth to play with. I have never known anyone so intensely and completely enveloped in music. It's my suspicion that if you drained all the music out of Jody, you could carry what was left around in an eye dropper."
Jody has been twice nominated for a Grammy with his wife Kate: in 1993 for "Our Town" ("Best Traditional Folk Album"), and again in 1998 for "Heart Songs: The Old Time Country Songs Of Utah Phillips" ("Best Traditional Folk Album of 1997"). More recently he has devoted albums to singing traditional folk songs.
Jody Stecher's sister, Janet Stecher, is a professional singer in the duo Rebel Voices and leads the Seattle Labor Chorus.
Collaboration - Jody Stecher and Krishna Bhatt.
Collaboration - Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin.
Collaboration - Alasdair Fraser and Jody Stecher.
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...
and old-time music
Old-time music
Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music, with roots in the folk music of many countries, including England, Scotland, Ireland and countries in Africa. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dance, buck dance, and clogging. The genre also...
on banjo, mandolin, fiddle and guitar, and Dagar-vani dhrupad
Dhrupad
Dhrupad is a vocal genre in Hindustani classical music, said to be the oldest still in use in that musical tradition. Its name is derived from the words "dhruva" and "pada"...
on the sursringar, a rare Indian instrument that is a baritone relative of the sarod
Sarod
The sarod is a stringed musical instrument, used mainly in Indian classical music. Along with the sitar, it is the most popular and prominent instrument in the classical music of Hindustan...
.
Jonathan Allan Stecher was born in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York. At the age of twelve he acquired a dusty fretless Gatcomb in an antique shop and bought it for two dollars. After gaining a solid grounding in bluegrass, cajun, blues and Scottish folk music, he studied Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music is the Hindustani or North Indian style of Indian classical music found throughout the northern Indian subcontinent. The style is sometimes called North Indian Classical Music or Shāstriya Sangeet...
for 3 years with Ali Akbar Khan
Ali Akbar Khan
Ali Akbar Khan , often referred to as Khansahib or by the title Ustad , was a Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod...
and for 10 years with Zia Mohiuddin Dagar. He has collaborated with Krishna Bhatt
Krishna Bhatt
Krishna Mohan Bhatt is a sitar player, teacher and scholar from Jaipur, India.He comes from a family of musicians in Jaipur. His father, the late Shashi Mohan Bhatt, a sitarist of great repute and a professor at the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur trained many musicians in the family including...
on an unusual album of fusion music "Rasa" (1982). He met Kate Brislin (a former member of "Any Old time string Band") in 1974 and started performing actively as a duo in 1985; they married on 29 July 1987. He is regarded as one of the leading traditional folk artists in America and his recordings have served a large and diverse group of musicians, including Jerry Jeff Walker
Jerry Jeff Walker
Jerry Jeff Walker is an American country music singer and songwriter. He is probably most famous for writing the song "Mr. Bojangles.-Biography:...
, Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
, David Grisman
David Grisman
David Grisman is an American bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist and composer of acoustic music. In the early 1990s, he started the Acoustic Disc record label in an effort to preserve and spread acoustic or instrumental music.-Biography:Grisman grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey...
, Peter Rowan, Martin Simpson
Martin Simpson
Martin Simpson is an English folk singer, guitarist and songwriter. His music reflects a wide variety of influences and styles, rooted in the British Isles, America and beyond.-Biography:...
, Seldom Scene, Laurie Lewis
Laurie Lewis
Laurie Lewis , is an American bluegrass musician.- History :Lewis fell in love with American folk music as a teenager, at the sunset of the 1960s folk revival. She says of the Berkeley Folk Festivals where she first caught the folk bug:"Oh, it was so exciting...
, Kathy Kallick, Alasdair Fraser
Alasdair Fraser
Alasdair Fraser is a Scottish fiddler.Fraser operates Culburnie Records, and is a leading artist on the label. He has founded three summer fiddling programs: the fiddle camp in California , a week-long course on the Isle of Skye and the more recent in California...
and Hot Rize
Hot Rize
Hot Rize is a bluegrass band that rose to prominence in the early 1980s. Established in 1978, the founding members were Mike Scap , Tim O'Brien on mandolin and fiddle, Pete Wernick on banjo and Charles Sawtelle on bass....
. He has also written liner notes for many albums.
David Bromberg
David Bromberg
David Bromberg is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Bromberg has an eclectic style, playing bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz, country and western, and rock and roll equally well. He is known for his quirky, humorous lyrics, and the ability to play rhythm and lead guitar at the...
once said, "Jody Stecher was basically my teacher. He opened my ears to more beautiful music than anyone else ever did... more than I ever knew existed. He is also one of my favorite musicians on Earth to play with. I have never known anyone so intensely and completely enveloped in music. It's my suspicion that if you drained all the music out of Jody, you could carry what was left around in an eye dropper."
Jody has been twice nominated for a Grammy with his wife Kate: in 1993 for "Our Town" ("Best Traditional Folk Album"), and again in 1998 for "Heart Songs: The Old Time Country Songs Of Utah Phillips" ("Best Traditional Folk Album of 1997"). More recently he has devoted albums to singing traditional folk songs.
Jody Stecher's sister, Janet Stecher, is a professional singer in the duo Rebel Voices and leads the Seattle Labor Chorus.
Discography
Solo albums.- Snake Baked Hoecake (1973)
- Going up On the Mountain (1977)
- Oh the Wind and Rain (1999)
Collaboration - Jody Stecher and Krishna Bhatt.
- Rasa (1982)
Collaboration - Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin.
- A Song That Will Linger (1988)
- Blue Lightning (1991)
- Our Town (1992)
- Stay Awhile (1995)
- Heart Songs: The Old Time Country Songs of Utah Phillips (1997)
- Songs of the Carter Family (2000)
- Return (2010)
Collaboration - Alasdair Fraser and Jody Stecher.
- The Driven Bow (1989)
