Schatz, Mark

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MARK SCHATZ

  • From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts (near Boston).  Has also lived in Maryland, Nashville, Berkeley, California.
  • Best known as one of the top acoustic bass players in bluegrass music.
  • First band: Mandala, a folk dance group, while he was still in college.
  • 1978, formed Tasty Licks with Bela Fleck, Pat Enright, Jack Tottle, Robin Kincaid, Stacy Phillips.
  • 1981, moved to Nashville and formed Spectrum with Glenn Lawson, Bela Fleck, Jimmy Gaudreau and Jimmy Mattingly.
  • 1983, played country music (electric bass) in various bands around Nashville. Worked with Pam Tillis, Pure Prairie League, others.
  • 1985, joined the Tony Rice Unit, playing bass.
  • 1990-1998, played bass with Tim and Mollie O’Brien as one of the O’Boys.
  • Also plays clawhammer-style banjo (his banjo is heard on the theme for the IBMA awards show.)
  • 1995, released solo project Brand New Old Tyme Way album (Rounder).  Began performing as Mark Schatz and friends.
  • He is an accomplished dancer. He served as musical director for the dance troupe Footworks.
  • 1996, he performed with the hit show Riverdance.
  • 1998, formed a side band with Tim O’Brien, Jerry Douglas and Charlie Cushman called The Flatt Heads. Also worked with John Hartford.
  • 1994, 1995, won the IBMA award for Bass Player of the Year.
  • 2003-2007, began performing regularly (on bass) with Nickel Creek.
  • 2006, released second solo album Steppin’ in the Boiler House (Rounder) featuring his clawhammer banjo playing & original songs.
  • 2008, joined the Claire Lynch band.
  • 2014, re-joined Nickel Creek for their 25th anniversary tour.
  • 2019, his wife, dancer Eileen Carson Schatz (founder and director of the Footworks Dance ensemble, died of cancer.
  • 2021, released Grit and Polish album (Patuxent) with fiddler Bryan McDowell, his former bandmate in the Claire Lynch band.
  • 2022, moved to Berkeley, California and has been playing with several California musicians.
  • 2023, toured with Bela Fleck’s “My Bluegrass Heart” and “Rhapsody in Bluegrass.”