Edgar Meyer (born November 24, 1960) is an American

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low b ...

and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

. He has won five

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

and been nominated seven times. Meyer is a member of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival's "house band"

super group ''Super Group'' is an album by the Japanese rock trio Shonen Knife. It was released in Japan on 7 November 2008, in the USA on 20 May 2009, and in the UK and Europe in 2010. The original Japanese CD issue was released as a mini-LP cartoon packa ...

, along with

Sam Bush Charles Samuel Bush (born April 13, 1952) is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Reviva ...

, Béla Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, and

Bryan Sutton Bryan Sutton is an American musician. Primarily known as a flatpicking acoustic guitar player, Sutton also plays mandolin, banjo, ukulele, and electric guitar. He also sings and writes songs. Biography Early career Sutton's grandfather and ...

. His collaborators have spanned a wide range of musical styles and talents; among them are

Joshua Bell Joshua David Bell (born December 9, 1967) is an American violinist and conductor. He plays the Gibson Stradivarius. Early life and education Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, to Shirley Bell, a therapist, and Alan P. Bell, a psychologi ...

, Hilary Hahn,

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

, Jerry Douglas, Béla Fleck,

Zakir Hussain Zakir Hussain ( ur, , link=no) is the name of: * Zakir Husain (politician), an Indian politician and former president of India * Zakir Hussain (actor), Bollywood actor * Zakir Hussain (field hockey) (1934–2019), Pakistani field hockey player * ...

, Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, Chris Thile, Mike Marshall, Mark O'Connor, Christian McBride, and Emanuel Ax.

Early life

Meyer grew up in

Oak Ridge, Tennessee Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee, Anderson and Roane County, Tennessee, Roane counties in the East Tennessee, eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, Knoxville. Oak Ridge's popu ...

. He learned to play the double bass from his father, Edgar Meyer Sr., who directed the string orchestra program for the local public school system. Meyer later went on to

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

to study with Stuart Sankey.

Career

As a composer, Meyer's music has been premiered and recorded by Emanuel Ax,

, the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 18 ...

Bela Fleck Bela may refer to: Places Asia *Bela Pratapgarh, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar Pradesh, India *Bela, a small village near Bhandara, Maharashtra, India *Bela, another name for the biblical city Zoara * Bela, Dang, in Nepal * Bela, Janakpur, ...

, Hilary Hahn, and the Emerson String Quartet, among others. The Nashville Symphony and the

Aspen Music Festival and School The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music students. Founded in 1949, the ...

commissioned his first purely orchestral work which was premiered by the Nashville Symphony in March 2017. Additionally,

Bravo! Vail Bravo! Vail is an annual classical music festival held in Vail, Colorado. Its current artistic director is Anne-Marie McDermott. Overview The six-week-long festival begins in late June and ends in early August. Programming consists of chamber mus ...

and The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields commissioned an Overture for Violin and Orchestra that was premiered by Joshua Bell and ASMF in June 2017. In 2011, Meyer collaborated on '' The Goat Rodeo Sessions'' with

, Stuart Duncan, and Chris Thile. The album won two 2013 Grammy Awards. Meyer was honored with his fifth

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

in 2015 for his ''Bass & Mandolin'', recording with Thile. Meyer recorded a collection of Bach trios with Thile and Yo-Yo Ma, released in April 2017. In June 2020, the same group of musicians who recorded ''The Goat Rodeo Sessions'' released a second album entitled ''

Not Our First Goat Rodeo ''Not Our First Goat Rodeo'' is a 2020 collaborative album by Stuart Duncan, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile, featuring Aoife O'Donovan. It was released on June 19, 2020. Background On October 24, 2011, Stuart Duncan, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar ...

''. Meyer is Artist in Residence at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

Blair School of Music The Blair School of Music, located in Nashville, Tennessee, provides a conservatory-caliber undergraduate education in music performance, composition, or integrated music studies ( theory and history) within the context of a major research u ...

and is on faculty at the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

. At Curtis, Meyer taught Punch Brothers bassist and composer

Paul Kowert Paul Kowert (born July 18, 1986) is an American bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, and progressive bluegrass. He is a member of the progressive acoustic quintet Punch Brothers and a founding member of Hawktail, an ac ...

Personal life

Edgar Meyer is married to violinist Connie (Cornelia) Heard, and they have one son, George Meyer, who also plays the violin.

Discography

Solo work * '' Unfolding'' (1986) * '' Dreams of Flight'' (1987) * '' Love of a Lifetime'' (1988) * ''

Work in Progress Work in process (WIP), work in progress (WIP), goods in process, or in-process inventory refers to a company's partially finished goods waiting for completion and eventual sale, or the value of these items. The term is used in supply chain managem ...

'' (1990) * '' Bach: Unaccompanied Cello Suites Performed on Double Bass'' (2000) * '' Meyer and Bottesini Concertos'' (2002) * '' Edgar Meyer'' (2006) With

and Mark O'Connor * ''

Appalachia Waltz ''Appalachia Waltz'' is the first album from the trio of cellist Yo-Yo Ma, double-bassist and composer Edgar Meyer, and fiddler and composer Mark O'Connor. Sony Classical released the disc in 1996. It was recorded over three days, 14–17 Augus ...

'' (1996) * ''

Appalachian Journey ''Appalachian Journey'' is the second album from the string trio of bassist and composer Edgar Meyer, fiddler and composer Mark O'Connor, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. James Taylor and Alison Krauss join the trio individually on two Stephen Foster son ...

'' (2000) ** Won

Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many ...

With Béla Fleck * ''

Double Time In popular music, half-time is a type of meter and tempo that alters the rhythmic feel by essentially ''doubling the tempo resolution'' or metric division/level in comparison to common-time. Thus, two measures of approximate a single measure o ...

'' (1984, on the song "Lowdown") * ''

Perpetual Motion Perpetual motion is the motion of bodies that continues forever in an unperturbed system. A perpetual motion machine is a hypothetical machine that can do work infinitely without an external energy source. This kind of machine is impossible, a ...

'' (2001) ** Won two Grammys * "Bonnaroo Traveler" (Live at Bonnaroo 2002) * '' Music for Two'' (live) (2004) With Chris Thile * '' Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile'' (2008) * '' Bass & Mandolin'' (2014) ** Won Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album Miscellaneous collaborations * '' Telluride Sessions'' (1989) – as "Strength in Numbers" * '' Skip, Hop, and Wobble'' (1993) – with Jerry Douglas and Russ Barenberg * ''Bourbon and Rosewater'' (1996) – with

Vishwa Mohan Bhatt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, professionally known as V. M. Bhatt (born 27 July 1950), is an Hindustani classical music instrumentalist who plays the Mohan veena ( slide guitar). Personal life Bhatt lives in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, with his wife and ...

and Jerry Douglas * Schubert: Quintet, Op. 114 "The Trout" (1996) – with Emanuel Ax,

Pamela Frank Pamela Frank (born June 20, 1967) is an American violinist, with an active international career across a varied range of performing activity. Her musicianship was recognized in 1999 with the Avery Fisher Prize, one of the highest honors given t ...

, Rebeca Young, and

* ''

Uncommon Ritual ''Uncommon Ritual'' is the second album released by Sony Classical of string trios, following Appalachia Waltz, with unusual instrumentation and influences from bluegrass and folk music to create an Americana-style of traditional classical music ...

'' (1997) – with Béla Fleck and Mike Marshall * Quintet (1998) – with the Emerson String Quartet * '' Short Trip Home'' (1999) – with

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nominated * ''

Dawg Duos ''Dawg Duos'' is a collaborative bluegrass album by David Grisman and 12 different artists, released in 1999. Each of them performs a duo with Grisman on mandolin or mandola. The instruments are as diverse as drums, accordion, autoharp, besides ...

'' (1999) – with

David Grisman David Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acoustic mu ...

* Violin Concerto (2000) – with Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Hilary Hahn * ''The Melody of Rhythm – Triple Concerto & Music for Trio'' (2009) – with Béla Fleck and

* '' The Goat Rodeo Sessions'' (2011) – with

, Stuart Duncan and Chris Thile ** Won the

Grammy Award for Best Folk Album The Grammy Award for Best Folk Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the folk genre. Honors in several ...

and the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical * ''Bach Trios'' (2017) – with Yo-Yo Ma and Chris Thile * ''

'' (2020) – with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan and Chris Thile

References

External links

Meyer homepageMeyer discographyEdgar Meyer at Boosey & HawkesBiography at IMG ArtistsBACH & friends Documentary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Edgar 1960 births Living people American male composers 21st-century American composers Bluegrass musicians from Tennessee American classical double-bassists Male double-bassists Aspen Music Festival and School faculty MacArthur Fellows Indiana University alumni Grammy Award winners People from Oak Ridge, Tennessee 21st-century double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians Lyle Lovett and His Large Band members