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The flatpicking ace describes the art of blending jazz and classical influences with contemporary roots music.
FLATPICKING PHENOM Grant Gordy is an emerging voice in the world of contemporary string band music. Gordy started out playing roots and bluegrass, and was eventually drawn to the sounds of jazz, classical, and "Dawg" music - a term used by mandolin legend David "Dawg" Grisman to describe his distinctive blend of bluegrass and Gypsy jazz. Since then, Gordy has dedicated himself to honing his technique and developing an original voice that effortlessly and convincingly merges seemingly unrelated genres of music.
In 2006, Gordy was a part of bassist Edgar Meyer's "Porous Borders of Music" workshop, a weeklong clinic at Carnegie Hall focused on bridging the gap between Western classical and American roots music. He has also worked extensively with banjoist Jayme Stone and was part of Stone's Africa to Appalachia project, an innovative cross-cultural exploration of the banjo's African roots that featured Malian kora virtuoso Mansa Sissoko (the album won Canada's Juno award for Best World Music Album in 2009). Last year Gordy joined the David Grisman Quintet, whose three-disc DGQ-20 compilation played a pivotal role in his development as a musician. "Somediing about it just fit for me and even got me to start dunking about writing my own tunes," he says.
Gordy's years of practice, inquiry into composition and arranging, and penchant for improvisation have all culminated in his eponymous recording, released...