Scott Nygaard

John Reischman, Scott Nygaard, and Sharon Gilchrist tour in Northern California

 The acoustic power trio of mandolinist John Reischman, guitarist Scott Nygaard, and bassist/mandolinist Sharon Gilchrist blends traditional bluegrass and folk styles with their own personalized visions of contemporary acoustic music, reshaping old melodies and composing new music based on traditional forms with an improvisatory flair and melodic richness. Reischman and Nygaard, both Grammy winners revered in the acoustic world for their melodic virtuosity and impeccable tone, have been performing together off and on since the early ‘90s, when they played on each others’ solo recording debuts for Rounder Records. They are joined by Gilchrist, whose mandolin and bass playing have been in high demand for years, gracing the bands of acoustic and bluegrass icons Darol Anger, Peter Rowan, Tony Rice, Laurie Lewis, and others. Reischman’s most recent album, Walk Along John, was described by Bluegrass Today as combining “blazing bluegrass, stately old time melodies, and even reckless, seat-of-the-pants improvgrass,” a fitting description of what you can expect to hear from these three empathetic musicians. 

Thursday, March 20, Tiburon, CA, Schoenberg Guitars, 8:00 pm, www.om28.com

Friday, March 21, Ukiah, CA. House Concert, Split Rock Ranch, 7:30 pm. Contact info: matternranch@pacific.net  

Saturday, March 22, Santa Cruz, CA, House Concert, 8:00 pm. Contact info: spalazzo@cruzio.com

Sunday, March 23, Arcata, CA, Arcata Playhouse, 8:00 PM. www.arcataplayhouse.org

I’ll be doing a concert with mandolin whiz (and Crow Molly cohort) Joe Walsh on Feb. 21 at Eric Schoenberg’s guitar shop in Tiburon CA. Then we head down to Palo Alto on the 22nd for workshops at Gryphon Stringed Instruments. Joe will do a mandolin workshop and we’ll both host a workshop on playing mandolin and guitar duets. 

Sharon and I will be playing as a duo at Stevie Coyle’s mighty fine Mighty Fine Guitars, Sat. Sept. 7, in Lafayette, CA. It’s a nice intimate setting with lots of beautiful guitars on the walls. Come on down.

Sat. Sept 7, Mighty Fine Guitars, Lafayette, CA. 8 pm. 85 Lafayette Circle
Lafayette, California 94549

I’ll be teaching at the Ashokan Guitar Camp July 28 – Aug. 1, along with such great guitarists as Matt Munisteri, Molly Mason, Cathy Fink, and Mark Simos. If you know anyone who might want to spend a few days with some guitar-crazy people in the a beautiful nature preserve in the Catskill Mountains, please let ’em know about this: 

Ashokan Guitar Camp, July 28 – Aug. 1, Ashokan Camp, Olivebridge, NY. 

I’m going to be playing two gigs with mandolinist/singer Sharon Gilchrist at the Freight and Salvage in February. On Sat. Feb 9, we’ll be playing a duo set opening for the Bee Eaters and then joining the Bee Eaters for selected tunes. And I’ll also be accompanying Sharon during her set at the Freight’s “New Voices” show on Feb. 21. 

I filmed this about two years ago with Jack Lawrence and Robert Bowlin. A fun time was had by all. You can get it at Flatpicking Mercantile. Here’s what they say about it (and I think they’re right).

In this concert performance DVD, filmed at the Peaceful Bend Americana Music Festival in Steelville, MO, Flatpicking Guitar Magazine and SimpleFolk Productions present three of the country’s most highly respected acoustic guitar players performing a very special evening of music.  Jack Lawrence (Doc Watson’s long-time musical partner) is joined here by flatpicking veterans Scott Nygaard and Robert Bowlin.  In this concert these three masters of the acoustic guitar perform as a trio, in different duo configurations, and solo.  Plus singer/songwriter Wil Maring joins them as a special guest.

All three of these performers have had illustrious careers that each span over three decades.  It is rare opportunity to see acoustic guitarists with their combined experience and level of talent performing together in concert.  Each of these guitarist have their own unique approach to the guitar.  Witnessing the smooth and seamless integration of their diverse guitar styles as they bring each tune to life is both exciting and captivating.

Guitar players will appreciate the left and right hand close-ups that are prevalent throughout this DVD.  There are a total of 14 tunes presented: Forked Deer, Little Sadie, Dinah, Rows, Midnight On The Stormy Deep, Paddy On The Turnpike, Old Kentucky Home, Tough Luck Man, Durango Tango, Kingdom Come / Liza Jane, Red Rockin Chair, Arkansas Windstorm, I am A Pilgrim, Texas Gales

Plus this DVD includes special bonus footage featuring two of the young stars of flatpicking guitar music, Josh Williams and Tyler Grant, performing Cattle In The Cane and Nine Pound Hammer. This is a “must see” concert performance for the fan of flatpicking music.

I will be giving a 3-hour workshop focusing on flatpick technique at the String Letter Music School in San Anselmo, CA, May 28, 2-5 pm. For more information visit the Music School website below.

Art of the Flatpick Workshop

Saturday, May 8, 2:00 to 5:00

Using examples from bluegrass, jazz, folk, and pop music, we cover the basics of good picking-hand technique, with an emphasis on picking-hand posture. Techniques covered include alternate picking, rest stroke, efficient picking, sweep picking, and strumming.

Scott discusses flatpicking technique with musical examples in a few styles. Participants have the opportunity to try out the examples in class and get advice and criticism on their own technique.

Participants in this workshop should be interested in acquiring a good basic flatpick technique that will allow them to eventually play and explore any music they want. You should be comfortable with basic first-position chords and first-position major scales (C, G, D) and have attempted to play some melodies up the neck.

You will leave the workshop with a grounding in good flatpick technique and an idea of what you need to work on to improve your own technique.