Chris Pandolfi - banjo/vox, Jesse Cobb - mandolin, Jeremy Garrett - fiddle/vox, Chris Eldridge - guitar/vox, Andy Hall - dobro/vox, Travis Books - basso profundo/vox
Influences
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Tom Adams, Frank Zappa, John Scofield, the Assad Brothers, the Johnson Mountain Boys, Steely Dan, Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, Old and in the Way, Danny Barnes, the Bad Livers, John Hartford, Tony Trischka, Brad Mehldau, Bill Keith, Bob Marley, the Dixie Dregs, Django Reinhardt, Alison Brown, Jobim, New Grass Revival, Art Blakey, the Beatles, banjo Bill Evans, piano Bill Evans, Sam Bush, Tony Rice, Jerry Douglas, Grant Green, Sammy Shelor, Beck, Ben Eldridge, the Seldom Scene, DUFFY, Solas, Ry Cooder, Ravi Shankar, Ali Farka Toure, Tin Hat Trio, Miles Davis, Roland White, Stuart Duncan, NewGrange, Mike Marshall, Danny Elfman, Darol Anger, Tim O'brien, Leon Hunt, Lefty Frizzell, Matt Flinner, Radiohead, Alison Krauss, Viktor Krauss, Bill Frissell, Weather Report, Edgar Meyer, Wes Montgomery, Culture, the Meters, Weezer, Talking Heads, Sufjan Stevens, Strength in Numbers, David Grier, Psychograss, Paul Simon, Mark Johnson, Ruby Braff, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Johnny Cash, Hendrix, Jim Mills, Horace Silver, Glenn Gould, Gillian Welch, Emory Lester, Duke Ellington, Doc Watson, Junior Brown, Del McCoury, Danny Gatton, Buddy Emmons, Dave Holland, Charlie Christian, Bob Wills, Blue Highway, Robert Greer, the junior MENSA bluegrass society
Chris Pandolfi is quickly becoming recognized as one of the premier young banjo players on today’s acoustic music scene. After being exposed to the music of Bela Fleck, he bought his first banjo while attending high school in New York. Chris later studied with legends Tony Trischka and Bill Evans, working on everything from traditional bluegrass to progressive instrumental music. With the help of Matt Glaser, he was admitted as the first ever banjo principal at the Berklee College of Music, studying jazz performance and composition. After moving to Boston in the fall of 2001, he performed with a variety of regional and national acts, gaining widespread acclaim as a performer and composer. In the summer of 2002 Chris was awarded the prestigious Bill Vernon Memorial Scholarship at the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival.
Chris’ debut solo album, The Handoff, was released in August, 2003. This record brings together some of the country’s top young bluegrass instrumentalists and is already being compared to the most prominent recordings in its field. A collection of entirely original music, The Handoff displays his talents as a player, composer, arranger and producer. Chris moved to Nashville in the fall of 2004 and began touring with Grammy nominated, Universal South recording artist Bering Strait (www.beringstraitonline.com), and working as a session musician. For most of 2005, he was on the road with the Drew Emmitt Band (www.drewemmitt.com). The band featured Drew Emmitt and Greg Garrison from Leftover Salmon, as well as the amazing Ross martin on guitar. These days, the Infamous Stringdusters are a full time operation. The band features Chris on banjo along with Andy Hall, Andy Falco, Jesse Cobb, Jeremy Garrett and Travis Book. They signed with Sugar Hill Records in the spring of '06 and their debut album, Fork in the Road, was released in Feb, '07. The band recently won Emergin Artist of the Year, Song of the Year (Fork in the Road) and Album of the Year at the 2007 IBMA Awards show in Nashville, TN. In addition to playing with the Stringdusters, Chris works as a session musician in Nashville and tours occasionally with the Drew Emmitt/Billy Nershi Band.
First 4 Installments of ISD Europe Tour Movie: (More to Come!)
Part 1
(except that rockygrass was a mighty fine time and i have photos of you, doing basically nothing, but still good that i should send your way....) -bigs
The Handoff got me through my long journey home on Sunday. I love it..."thank you very much." Also, part 6 of the Euro Tour series = awesome. When did you guys become rock stars?
Hey Chris... thinking back on the wonderful memories from Wintergrass. It was so amazing this year! The Dusters sounded great as always. Can't wait to see you boys again at Old Settler's!
Looks like there is room to head my way when you all are in Chicago! Hope to see you! ...And remember to save those broken strings for me! Magi-Jedi Grandma
