Jeff Austin (April 25, 1974 – June 24, 2019) was an American

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

ist and singer best known for being a founding member of the Yonder Mountain String Band.

Biography

Although Austin was born in

Arlington Heights, Illinois Arlington Heights is a municipality in Cook County with a small portion in Lake County in the U.S. state of Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it lies about northwest of the city's downtown. Per the 2020 Census, the population was 77,676. Per the ...

, United States, he grew up in Elk Grove Village, Illinois and attended Rolling Meadows High School. Austin attended the University of Cincinnati, but soon made his way to Urbana, Illinois, where he met future

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

ist Dave Johnston. Receiving a request from Johnston to perform in his band The Bluegrassholes, Austin picked up the

for the first time. After some time, Austin moved to Nederland, Colorado; Johnston, after seeking improvement in his playing ability, also moved to Nederland. While attending a club called the Verve, Austin met

Adam Aijala The Yonder Mountain String Band is an American progressive bluegrass group from Nederland, Colorado. Composed of Dave Johnston, Ben Kaufmann, Adam Aijala, and Nick Piccininni, the band has released five studio albums and several live recordings t ...

and Ben Kaufmann, with whom he and Johnston would form the Yonder Mountain String Band (YMSB) in 1998. In late 2013, Austin announced that he would be taking a leave of absence from YMSB due to the pending birth of his daughter. On April 23, 2014, the band announced an amicable parting of ways with Austin, citing creative differences and conflicting career goals. In 2014, Austin formed the Jeff Austin Band (jAb). While jAb saw many different lineups, it remained active until the time of his death. On February 10, 2015, Austin released his solo debut album ''The Simple Truth'' on Yep Roc Records. The project features the likes of Cody Dickinson, the Royal Horns, Todd Snider, Jennifer Hartswick, Brendan Bayliss and Sarah Siskind, as well as jAb members at the time Danny Barnes, Ross Martin and Eric Thorin. Jeff Austin died on June 24, 2019.

Side projects

In March 2004, Austin released a full-length studio album with Chris Castino ( The Big Wu) calle
''Songs from the Tin Shed''
This album of wistful cowboy music features Nick Forster and included guest appearances by Darol Anger, Sally Van Meter and Noam Pikelny. In February 2006, Austin recorded ''

Rex (Live at the Fillmore) ''Rex (Live at the Fillmore)'' is the thirteenth album by Keller Williams, recorded live on February 8, 2006 at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, Colorado. " Fire On The Mountain" (Garcia, Hunter / Mickey Hart Mickey Hart (born Michael Ste ...

'', a live album under the band name Grateful Grass featuring fellow musicians Keller Williams and Keith Moseley ( The String Cheese Incident). Available only for digital download, the album features non-traditional bluegrass versions of songs by the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

with 100% of the proceeds going to the

Rex Foundation The Rex Foundation was created by "members of the Grateful Dead and Friends" in 1983 as a charitable non-profit organization to "proactively provide extensive community support to creative endeavors in the arts, sciences, and education." The organi ...

. In 2010, he partnered with

Brendan Bayliss Brendan Bayliss (born August 11, 1976) is an American musician and the founder, a lead guitarist, and primary vocalist for progressive rock band Umphrey's McGee. Biography Bayliss formed Umphrey's McGee in 1997 and took its moniker from th ...

of Umphrey's McGee to form a group called 30db. They put out an album called ''One Man Show'' on May 11, 2010 and played a small seven-show tour in May 2010 to promote the new album. Joining them on tour was Cody Dickinson from the North Mississippi Allstars, Nick Forster from the bluegrass band Hot Rize and Boulder-based Eric Thorin. In 2013, Austin contributed the theme music and closing credits to the documentary, ''

I Know That Voice ''I Know That Voice'' is a documentary film about American voice acting. It premiered on November 6, 2013, at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre. The documentary was narrated by John DiMaggio, the voice of Bender on '' Futurama'' and Jake on ''Adventure ...

''.

References

External links

Jeff Austin official homepage

Yonder Mountain String Band To Tour Without Jeff Austin — Jambase.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Jeff 1974 births 2019 deaths People from Arlington Heights, Illinois American folk singers American bluegrass musicians Singers from Illinois American bluegrass mandolinists Country musicians from Illinois