Biography

Grammy Award-winning musician John Reischman has been a foundational mandolinist, composer, bandleader, and musical educator in bluegrass and North American roots and folk music since emerging from the vibrant “new acoustic” music scene of the Bay Area in the 1980s. A founding member of the groundbreaking Tony Rice Unit, Reischman’s mastery of bluegrass, old-time, swing, and multiple Latin American musical styles, coupled with an Old Master’s sense of tone, taste and musicality, has brought him a global reputation as one of the finest mandolinists of his era.

His latest CD, New Time & Old Acoustic on Corvus Records, blends a lifetime of musical influences into an engaging recording with some of today’s top acoustic players including flatpicking guitarists Molly Tuttle and Chris Eldridge, fiddler Alex Hargreaves, and bassist Todd Phillips. The 14-track album includes 12 new Reischman originals and a reinterpretation of his classic tune “Salt Spring.” New Time & Old Acoustic is the most mature, accomplished solo recording of Reischman’s storied career. 
 
Previously, Reischman has released a series of acclaimed solo recordings, North of the Border, Up In The Woods, and Walk Along John, that showcase his gifts as a composer and instrumentalist. Many of John’s melodic mandolin tunes such as "Salt Spring,” “Little Pine Siskin,” and “Birdland Breakdown,” also have been adopted by the bluegrass community as standards and can be heard at jam sessions across the continent until the wee hours of the night.
 
In addition to his solo career, as leader of John Reischman and the Jaybirds, John and his talented U.S. and Canadian bandmates - Nick Hornbuckle, Trisha Gagnon, Patrick Sauber and Greg Spatz - have toured extensively throughout North America and abroad for two decades, bringing a uniquely Pacific Northwest sound to their brand of bluegrass and melodic fiddle tunes. They’ve earned two coveted Juno Award nominations for the best performances in the Canadian organisation’s “Roots and Traditional” category, and have released seven albums during their 20-year tenure.

Over the years, he’s collaborated with a remarkably wide range of artists including bluegrass singer/songwriter Kathy Kallick, flatpicking guitarist Scott Nygaard, banjo wiz Tony Furtado, fingerstyle guitarist John Miller, Chinese music ensemble Red Chamber, Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Celso Machado, singer songwriter Susan Crowe, and more.

A sought-after instructor at mandolin workshops and acoustic music camps, John teaches the popular Melodic Mandolin Tunes series on the highly regarded Peghead Nation music instructional website (https://pegheadnation.com/string-school/courses/melodic-mandolin-tunes). 
 
Considered by critics and audiences as one of the true masters of mandolin today, John Reischman remains committed to his original vision of exploring multiple mandolin genres in a style based on making each note and phrase sound uniquely rich and clear. One of those rare instrumental musicians who, like his mentor Tony Rice, can be recognized immediately within his first few notes, John’s playing on his legendary 1924 Lloyd Loar-signed Gibson F-5 mandolin epitomizes tone and taste.

A true musician’s musician who serves the melody over instrumental flash and hot licks, John Reischman continues to explore the melodic possibilities of mandolin in fresh ways in the 21st Century, reaching new generations of fans with his impeccable musical taste and style.