Tony Markellis is a bassist

Bassist

A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...

 and record producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 from Helena, Montana

Helena, Montana

Helena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. The 2010 census put the population at 28,180. The local daily newspaper is the Independent Record. The Helena Brewers minor league baseball and Helena Bighorns minor league hockey team call the...

, now residing in Saratoga Springs, New York

Saratoga Springs, New York

Saratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...

. His career spans nearly forty years, playing blues, folk, jazz, rock and country music with musicians such as Trey Anastasio

Trey Anastasio

Trey Anastasio is an American guitarist, composer, and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish...

, Paul Butterfield

Paul Butterfield

Paul Butterfield was an American blues vocalist and harmonica player, who founded the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the early 1960s and performed at the original Woodstock Festival...

, The Mamas & the Papas

The Mamas & the Papas

The Mamas & the Papas were a Canadian/American vocal group of the 1960s . The group recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968 with a short reunion in 1971, releasing five albums and 11 Top 40 hit singles...

, Johnny Shines

Johnny Shines

Johnny Shines was an American blues singer and guitarist. According to the music journalist Tony Russell, "Shines was that rare being, a blues artist who overcame age and rustiness to make music that stood up beside the work of his youth...

, 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...

, David Amram

David Amram

David Amram is an American composer, musician, conductor, and writer. As a classical composer and performer, his integration of jazz , ethnic and folk music has led him to work with the likes of Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Willie Nelson, Langston...

, Paul Siebel

Paul Siebel

Paul Siebel is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, born on September 19, 1937 in Buffalo, NY. He is best known for other artist's cover versions of his songs, most notably "Louise"...

, Rosalie Sorrels

Rosalie Sorrels

Rosalie Sorrels is an American folk singer-songwriter who resides in the mountains near Boise, Idaho. She began her public career as a singer and collector of traditional folksongs in the late 1950s. During the early 1960s she left her husband and began traveling and performing at music festivals...

, Eric Von Schmidt

Eric Von Schmidt

Eric "Rick" Von Schmidt was an American singer-songwriter and Grammy Award recipient. He was associated with the folk/blues revival of the 1960s and a key part of the East Coast folk music scene that included Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.-Background and associations with Dylan:Von Schmidt's father,...

, Ellen McIlwaine

Ellen McIlwaine

Ellen McIlwaine is an American singer-songwriter and musician best known for her career as a slide guitarist.-Biography:...

, Mary McCaslin

Mary McCaslin

Mary McCaslin is an American folk singer who wrote, recorded and performs contemporary folk music. She recorded primarily for Philo Records and traveled and performed with her husband, Jim Ringer....

, Railbird and Jo Henley. Markellis was a founding member of the groundbreaking Vermont-based jazz fusion group Kilimanjaro, as well as the Unknown Blues Band featuring Big Joe Burrell. In the late 1990s, Markellis became the first member of the first solo band

Trey Anastasio (band)

Since 1998, Trey Anastasio, best known from Phish, has toured and recorded with several backup bands, including several side-projects organized and led by the guitarist and composer. While active, his bands did not officially have a name. Fans commonly referred to them as Trey Anastasio Band, or...

 of Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio, forming the rhythm section

Rhythm section

A rhythm section is a collection of musicians who make up a section of instruments which provides the accompaniment section of the music, giving the music its rhythmic texture and pulse, also serving as a rhythmic reference for the rest of the band...

 with drummer

Drummer

A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

 Russ Lawton

Russ Lawton

Russ Lawton is a drummer from Vermont. He is best known as the drummer from the solo band of Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio. Lawton also performs with the Vermont jam band Strangefolk and The Chrome Cowboys...

. Including his work with Anastasio, Markellis has appeared on over one hundred albums. In addition to tours with the Trey Anastasio Band, he is currently working with Kilimanjaro, acoustic blues power trios No Outlet  and Street Corner Holler, vocal trio The Burns Sisters

The Burns Sisters

Folk, pop and rock are given a Celtic slant by Ithaca, New York-based vocalists the Burns Sisters. Accompanied by Rich DePaolo's guitar, Eric Aceto's fiddle and their own guitar and mandolin, the three sisters—Annie, Marie and Jeannie—harmonize with heartfelt spirit...

 and singer/songwriters Michael Jerling and Bob Warren

Bob Warren

Robert G. Warren is former American professional basketball player. He was born in Murray, Kentucky.Warren played forward at the Vanderbilt University from 1965 to 1968. His listed height was 6'5" and his weight was 190 lbs. He wore jersey number 21. He was named to multiple All-SEC teams and won...

. On June 20, 2010 (Fathers Day), Tony was invited on stage at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) to play bass w/ Phish on "Gotta Jibboo" (one of the songs he cowrote with Trey and Russ Lawton for the Trey Anastasio Band). Phish's bassist, Mike Gordon played the second guitar during the song.