Matt Flinner Explained

Matt Flinner
Birth Date:14 March 1969
Birth Place:Pueblo, Colorado
Genre:Folk music, bluegrass music, acoustic music, classical music
Occupation:Musician
Instrument:Mandolin, banjo
Years Active:1990–present
Label:Compass
Associated Acts:The Matt Flinner Quartet, The Modern Mandolin Quartet, Todd Phillips, David Grier

Matthew Warren Flinner[1] is an American mandolinist, music transcriber, and ensemble leader. Mike Marshall has called him "one of the truly great young mandolinists of our generation."[2]

Biography

Early years

Flinner's first musical experiences were in Salt Lake as well. At age 10, his older brother Rex taught him how to play the banjo, and then the mandolin soon after.[3] They formed the original Matt Flinner Trio, and played bluegrass music for tips.[4]

When his father hosted a bluegrass show on KRCL-FM in Salt Lake City, Flinner assisted in music selection.

At age 12, Flinner joined the Peewee Pickers, who play bluegrass festivals and watched heroes perform, including the Osborne Brothers, Ralph Stanley, The Country Gentlemen, J. D. Crowe, and Doyle Lawson.

Flinner won the Walnut Valley National Championship in Winfield, Kansas for bluegrass banjo in 1990[5] and the following year for mandolin.[6]

Flinner earned a Bachelor of Music degree in composition from University of Utah[7], studying with Morris Rosenzweig and performing with the Utah Symphony.[8]

Sugarbeat

Flinner joined banjoist Tony Furtado's band Sugarbeat in the early 90s. Sugarbeat also featured lead vocalist and guitarist Ben Demerath (vocals, guitar), and Sally Truitt (bass).[9] Sugarbeat win first place at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in 1992.[10]

Modern Mandolin Quartet

Flinner moved to Nashville in 1999, and in 2002 he joined the Modern Mandolin Quartet, a chamber group that uses two mandolins, a mandola, and a mandocello to perform classical and contemporary compositions. With Flinner, they released a re-recorded version of The Nutcracker Suite. Along with Flinner, members include Dana Rath, Paul Binkley, and Adam Roszkiewicz.[11]

In 2013, their album Americana was nominated for three Grammy awards: Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance, Best Engineered Album, and Classical Producer Of The Year.[12]

Matt Flinner Trio

Flinner formed The Matt Flinner Trio in 2006. Besides Flinner, the trio includes Ross Martin (guitar) and Eric Thorin (bass). For their Music du Jour shows, each member of the trio will compose a new song on the night before the performance and perform each new song at the show.

In 2009, their first album Music du Jour included what they considered to be the best songs composed for the Music du Jour shows.

The trio's 2016 album Traveling Roots features 12 more songs from the Music du Jour tours: four from each trio member.[13]

Phillips, Grier & Flinner

Todd Phillips, David Grier, and Matt Flinner perform, record, and tour as a trio. Their first album Phillips, Grier & Flinner was released in 1999.[14]

On their follow-up Looking Back, the trio cover songs such as Bill Monroe's "Tennessee Blues" and "Monroe's Hornpipe," Mongo Santamaría's "Afro Blue," and McCoy Tyner's "Search for Peace."[15]

Recordings

Released in 1999, The View From Here was produced by Todd Phillips (bass) and featured David Grier (guitar), Jerry Douglas (resonator guitar), and fiddlers Stuart Duncan, Darol Anger, and Tim O'Brien.[16]

Latitude in 2001 again included the assistance of Anger, Duncan on fiddle, Douglas, Grier, Phillips.[17]

Matt Flinner Quartet

Flinner plays lead mandolin in his electric rock-influenced band The Matt Flinner Quartet, influenced by Miles Davis and John Scofield. The quartet includes Gawain Mathews (guitar), Sam Bevan (bass), and Aaron Johnston (drums).

Other projects

Flinner was a featured soloist with Trey Anastasio during the Nashville Chamber Orchestra's performance of Don Hart's "Concertino for Strings, Two Mandolins and Guitar" with guitarist Roger Hudson and mandolinist Carlo Aonzo.[18] [19]

When the band Leftover Salmon lost founding member Mark Vann to cancer in 2002, Flinner played banjo as a substitute until the band was able to reorganize.[20]

Flinner was featured on Steve Martin's album The Crow, which won the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album.[21]

Flinner also occasionally performs and tours with Darrell Scott, Frank Vignola, David Grier, Alison Brown, Missy Raines, the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble, and the Ying Quartet.[22]

Personal life

Flinner lives with his wife Wendy in Vermont and teaches mandolin through his online Bluegrass Mandolin 101 program.

Discography

Solo albums

Matt Flinner Trio

Matt Flinner Quartet

2003: Walking On the Moon (Compass)

Todd Phillips, David Grier, and Matt Flinner

Modern Mandolin Quartet

Sugarbeat

Peewee Pickers

Also appears on

Music Publications

1999: In The Pines: 13 Classic Old-Time Instrumentals (Mel Bay)

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ATOMIC CITY . ASCAP . American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers . April 26, 2023.
  2. Web site: Modern Mandolin Quartet Grammy Interview. Mandolin Cafe. August 6, 2017. Mike Marshall. February 3, 2013.
  3. Web site: Mandolinist Extraordinaire Matt Flinner Generously Shares "Winter Harvest". Uprooted Music Revue. August 6, 2017. Chris Mateer . January 29, 2012.
  4. Web site: 10 Questions For Matt Flinner. Mandolin Cafe. August 5, 2017. February 16, 2011.
  5. Web site: National Bluegrass Banjo Championship. Walnut Valley Festival. August 6, 2017.
  6. Web site: Matt Flinner Trio: "Traveling Roots". Peghead Nation. August 6, 2017. David McCarty. April 19, 2016.
  7. News: Phillips. Michael. Postmodern Plucker Takes Banjo Back to its Roots in Jazz. August 6, 2017. Deseret News. June 25, 1991.
  8. Web site: Bios: Matt Flinner. Modern Mandolin Quartet. August 6, 2017.
  9. Web site: Matt Flinner Trio: New Album. JamBase. August 6, 2017. May 6, 2009.
  10. News: Bonham. Nicole A.. Sugarbeat Reels In Audience with Songs about Fish, Future. August 6, 2017. Deseret News. February 21, 1994.
  11. News: Amacher. Julie . New Classical Tracks: Modern Mandolin Quartet - Americana. August 6, 2017. Classical MPR. November 20, 2012.
  12. News: Liberatore. Paul. Lib at Large: Grammy spotlight shines on the Modern Mandolin Quartet. August 6, 2017. Marin Independent Journal. February 8, 2013.
  13. News: Keith Harris. Aaron. Traveling Roots by the Matt Flinner Trio. August 6, 2017. The Lonesome Road Review. June 1, 2016.
  14. Web site: Phillips, Grier & Flinner: Phillips, Grier & Flinner. Country Standard Time. August 6, 2017. Larry Stephens.
  15. Web site: Phillips, Grier & Flinner: Looking Back. The Graham Weekly Album Review . August 6, 2017. George Graham. July 10, 2002.
  16. Web site: The View from Here: Matt Flinner. Acoustic Music. August 6, 2017. Henry Koretzky.
  17. Web site: Matt Flinner, Latitude. Rambles. August 6, 2017. Jennifer Hanson. May 17, 2003.
  18. News: Bernstein. Scott. Trey Takes Nashville: Part Two – Divided Sky, Let Me Lie, Time Turns Elastic Videos. August 6, 2017. Glide Magazine. September 28, 2008.
  19. News: Pitcher. John. Nashville Chamber Orchestra. August 1, 2017. Nashville Scene. October 17, 2006.
  20. Web site: Leftover Salmon On Mountain Stage. NPR Music. August 6, 2017. October 5, 2016.
  21. Web site: Steve Martin Reflects on Life with Banjo In Hand, The Journey To The Crow and Rare Bird Alert and The Music's Call. The Bluegrass Special. August 6, 2017. David McGee. April 1, 2011.
  22. News: Lincoln. Marga. Joining forces. August 7, 2017. Independent Record. April 8, 2010.
  23. News: Weisberger. Jon. Matt Flinner - The View From Here. August 6, 2017. No Depression. February 28, 1998.
  24. Web site: Matt Flinner: Latitude. The Graham Weekly Album Review . August 6, 2017. George Graham. February 28, 2001.
  25. News: Horowitz. Hal. Matt Flinner Trio: Traveling Roots. August 5, 2017. American Songwriter. January 22, 2016.
  26. News: Ferguson. Jim. Todd Phillips, David Grier, Matt Flinner: Phillips, Grier and Flinner. August 1, 2017. JazzTimes. March 1, 2000.
  27. Web site: Phillips, Grier & Flinner: Looking Back. Country Standard Time. August 6, 2017. John Lupton.

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