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John
Carlini is a veteran guitarist and composer whose portfolio is a fascinating
journey from Broadway to jazz to bluegrass. An often-cited founding
member of the seventies' West Coast "New Acoustic Music" scene,
he is also an acclaimed arranger, orchestrator, conductor and five-string
banjo player. Carlini, whose father was a New York Philharmonic violinist
and whose mother is a retired, nationally-touring concert pianist, immersed
himself in the New York City folk music scene while still a teenager
after discovering the Wheeling West Virginia Jamboree on radio. From
there the journey took root.
With a distinct sense of direction, Carlini's was a dedicated decision
to make a career of music. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he enrolled
in its School of Music. Upon graduation, he earned a place playing big
band rhythm guitar in the U.S. Navy Show Band, with which he toured
for three years throughout the United States and South America. Upon
completing his tour of duty, he enrolled in the Berklee College of Music
in Boston, whose renowned jazz program enticed him. It was there that
Carlini gained the technical knowledge to make music his life's choice,
graduating with a major in arranging and composition with guitar as
his main instrument.
A chance meeting brought Carlini and mandolin innovator David Grisman
together, a relationship that has endured for more than two decades.
Among his affiliations with Grisman: he served as musical director for
the (then new) David Grisman Quintet; he replaced guitarist Jerry Garcia
in the groundbreaking Great American Music Band; he was the arranger
for the 1982 release of "Dawg Jazz," a tune featuring Grisman
with the Tonight Show Band; he was the DGQ guitarist on the Grammy-nominated
Dawg '90 (Acoustic Disc). In still another medium, Carlini was
enlisted to orchestrate and compose music for the Federico DeLaurentiis
filrn, King of the Gypsies, which also found him on camera, performing
on guitar with the late, legendary violinist Stephane Grappelli.
Among other diversified arenas in which Carlini's multi-faceted abilities
have been employed over the years are the Ice Capades, with which he
spent eight touring seasons as musical director, including four months
in Japan. His inventive arrangements and orchestrations have been performed
and recorded by such respected groups as the Turtle Island String Quartet
and the Kronos Quartet. In 1992, Carlini was called upon by producer
Richard Frankel to orchestrate Frankel's Off-Broadway musical, Song
of Singapore, as well as to serve as conductor and associate producer
for the cast recording. Featuring captivating forties swing music, Song
of Singapore landed Carlini a prestigious Drama Desk Award nomination
for orchestration.
In 1995, John joined long-time friend and fellow guitarist Tony Rice
to release River Suite for Two Guitars (Sugar Hill), an opportunity
for the two to rekindle their "new acoustic music" roots and
present a superb collection of contemporary jazz and original pieces.
Also that year, Carlini co-founded with mandolinist/guitarist Todd Collins
the spicy "jazz-grass" acoustic music band Over the Edge.
The group relies heavily on Carlini compositions and arrangements and
provides an ongoing outlet for Carlini's bluegrass influenced banjo
as well as guitar. Recently, he has been intricately involved with the
Nashville Mandolin Ensemble, for whom he conducted, arranged and appeared
as solo guitarist on its recording, Plectrasonics (CMH), nominated
in two categories for the 1997 Nashville Music Awards.
Currently channeling his many talents, extraordinary versatility and
technical expertise into an exciting new project, John has assembled
the John Carlini Quartet. With emphasis on showcasing Carlini's own
compositions, the ensemble will also be a sounding board for a limited
repertoire of original music from select composers of Carlini's choosing.
With a recording in the works and preparing for its debut tour, the
Quartet features John on guitar as well as occasional five-string banjo,
and Brian Glassman on acoustic bass, Josh Rubin on guitar, and Steve
Holloway playing drums and percussion. Each brings to the group a superb
and seasoned professional music background. In addition, a companion
tab/notation book of Carlini's flatpicking jazz compositions (Mel Bay
Publications) is in production.
While this latest endeavor will offer Carlini the artistic vehicle with
which to introduce new original material, it also will allow him the
flexibility to teach, arrange, orchestrate and conduct in various musical
genres and platforms. He will continue to challenge his unique and imaginative
musical creativity in a variety of media while focusing on live performance
with the new John Carlini Quartet.
John's
Official Website
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