Introducing Mr. Sun

Mr Sun is legendary fiddler Darol Anger, guitar phenom Grant Gordy, and the redoubtable mandolinist Joe Walsh (formerly with The Gibson Brothers)-with Karl Doty or Ethan Jodziewicz, bass.

Fiddler Darol Anger, youthful guitar whiz Grant Gordy, and the redoubtable mandolinist Joe Walsh have all spent their lives moving from place to place, adopting a town and then moving on, toward an intimate knowledge of the physical and psychic terrains that make up the Americas.

Though each is of a different generation, they've walked similar musical paths, exploring the worlds of bluegrass, blues, jazz, and old-time, on their way to mastery of their chosen instruments. Over the years, they have each become virtuosos of the vast swath of dialects that comprise American roots music.

In the ever stable bassist Karl Doty they found a kindred musical spirit, equally skilled in folk, jazz and classical music, a founding member of one of the premier chamber orchestras in the US.

Alternate Mr Sun bassist Ethan Jodziewicz is one of the most exciting young bassists in the country. A student of Edgar Meyer and currently attending the Curtis Institute, Ethan is equally at home playing classical, jazz, or old-time music-- with or without the bow!

Making a musical home for themselves in the space around and between the great American roots styles, this quartet draws from all of their varied backgrounds (Grammy-nominated fiddle music and jazz, award-winning bluegrass, indie/pop grass, new acoustic string bands, and classical music) in crafting a sound all their own, and is drawing all the right kind of attention for their new musical work.

Fiddler, composer, producer and educator,  Darol Anger is at home in a number of musical genres, some of which he helped to invent.

Exceptional among modern fiddlers for his versatility and depth, Anger has helped drive the evolution of the contemporary string band through his involvement with numerous path-breaking ensembles such as his Republic Of Strings, the Turtle Island String Quartet, the David Grisman Quintet, Montreux, his Duo with Mike Marshall, and others.

He has performed and taught all over the world with musicians such as Dr. Billy Taylor, Bela Fleck, Bill Evans, Edgar Meyer, Bill Frisell, Tony Rice, Tim O’Brien, Anonymous 4, Marin Alsop and the Cabrillo Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, Mark O’Connor, and Stephane Grappelli. Today Darol can be heard on NPR's "Car Talk" theme every week, along with Earl Scruggs, David Grisman and Tony Rice. He was also the violinist on the phenomenally popular Sim City computer games.

In addition to performing all over the world, he has recorded and produced scores of important recordings since 1977, is a MacDowell and UCross Fellow, and has received numerous composers’ residencies and grants. He has been a featured soloist on dozens of recordings and motion picture soundtracks. He is an Associate Professor at the prestigious Berklee School of music. He recently began an ambitious online Fiddle School at ArtistWorks.com.

Assuming the guitarist role in the fabled David Grisman Quintet, a spot previously held by such notables as Tony Rice, Mark O’Connor, Frank Vignola and Mike Marshall, has confirmed Grant Gordy as a pre-eminent young voice on acoustic guitar.

David Grisman says Gordy “belongs to the new elite of American acoustic practitioners who are pushing the ever-expanding envelope of a musical frontier.”

His work has been widely recognized for its consistent excellence and diversity. He was featured on the covers of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine and Japan’s premier bluegrass magazine, Moonshiner.

He was recently written up in Just Jazz Guitar and in 2010, Acoustic Guitar Magazine celebrated his debut CD in its Top Ten Acoustic Albums of the Year.
Gordy’s music has been heard on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, All Things Considered and the prestigious Tiny Desk Concerts.

Gordy was selected in 2006 to be one of 15 participants in Carnegie Hall’s “Porous Borders of Music” workshop, led by acoustic music legends Edgar Meyer and Mike Marshall. He’s played at Bonnaroo Music Festival, the Montréal Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco and in the UK and Russia.
Gordy was drawn to the guitar early on as a means of expression and intellectual curiosity.

Moving to Colorado from Oregon in his 20s opened his horizons as he began playing in a wide range of different styles.


Now based in New York, Gordy’s diverse musical gifts make him the ideal all-around guitarist for one of the world’s most varied musical cities. He’s currently focused on writing new original material, delving headlong into the Big Apple’s extraordinary jazz scene, continuing to tour with Grisman and other collaborators, teaching, and as always, staying open to new musical experiences.

"The young bluegrass/jazz virtuoso’s recording debut is an inspired, ambitious, coherent collection of original compositions for string jazz quartet (guitar, fiddle, mandolin, bass) that ranks with the best of his employer, David Grisman.” --Acoustic Guitar Magazine.

Recognized as one of the foremost contemporary mandolinists, Joe Walsh has also won acclaim and affection for his vocals and his talents on a number of other instruments, including guitar and octave mandolin.

With two solo albums to his credit, he toured internationally with the award-winning bluegrass super-group The Gibson Brothers.

In the spring of 2011 Joe released his second solo record, “Sweet Loam,” which features several of his recent compositions and new arrangements of some more familiar songs. An exceptional cast of musicians joins him, including Mike Block, Scott Law, Karl Doty, Lauren Rioux, and Darol Anger, who also co-produced the record with Joe. 

In the Fall of 2011 Joe returned to Berklee as both a mandolin instructor and as Managing Director of the American Roots Music Program.