Biography
Russ Barenberg ranks among the most lyrical players on today’s bluegrass scene. Although he is chiefly recognized for flatpicking modeled after Clarence White, he regularly brings his remaining three fingers into play, adding rhythmic drive, melodic detail, and a richer sense of texture. Formerly associated with Country Cooking, Heartlands, Fiddle Fever, and Laughing Hands, he has sustained a busy career ever since relocating to Nashville in 1986.
Doc Watson and Mississippi John Hurt first sparked his interest in the guitar, which he picked up at age thirteen. Together with his brother and sister, he studied under Alan Miller, the elder sibling of his later bandmate John Miller. The decisive moment arrived in 1964 when he encountered the late Clarence White on the Kentucky Colonels’ album Appalachian Swing!
During his time at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, in 1968, Barenberg crossed paths with banjo virtuoso Pete Wernick. Two years afterward the pair teamed with Tony Trischka, Kenny Kosek, and John Miller to launch the influential bluegrass group Country Cooking. In the four years the ensemble existed it produced the landmark LPs Country Cooking and 26 Bluegrass Instrumentals and supported mandolinist Frank Wakefield on a separate recording.
When Country Cooking dissolved in 1975, Barenberg briefly turned to electric guitar in the jazz-rock outfit Carried Away. Discouraged by industry pressures, he set the instrument aside between 1975 and 1977 after settling in New York, where he joined Trischka, Miller, and fiddler Matt Glaser to create the forward-looking bluegrass band Heartlands. Though Heartlands never issued its own album, the group supplied the backing for Barenberg’s first solo effort, the 1980 release Cowboy Calypso.
After moving to Boston he performed with various ad-hoc ensembles and offered guitar and mandolin instruction at the Music Emporium in Cambridge. In 1982 he united with Glaser and fiddler-mandolinist Jay Ungar in the wide-ranging string band Fiddle Fever, cutting two albums during his tenure. He also collaborated with Glaser and mandolinist Andy Statman in the brief experimental bluegrass-jazz project Laughing Hands.
Since arriving in Nashville, Barenberg has frequently partnered with dobro specialist and producer Jerry Douglas. Along with providing accompaniment for Irish singer Maura O’Connell, the two musicians joined upright bassist Edgar Meyer for the trio album Skip, Hop & Wobble.
In the studio Barenberg has contributed to countless publishing demos and has appeared on recordings by Béla Fleck, Hazel Dickens, Mel Tillis, and Randy Travis. He has likewise been featured on Homespun Tapes and Videos releases such as How to Play Bluegrass Guitar and Teach Yourself Bluegrass Guitar. For the track “Little Monk” from his 2007 album When at Last he received a Grammy nomination in the Best Country Instrumental Performance category.
Doc Watson and Mississippi John Hurt first sparked his interest in the guitar, which he picked up at age thirteen. Together with his brother and sister, he studied under Alan Miller, the elder sibling of his later bandmate John Miller. The decisive moment arrived in 1964 when he encountered the late Clarence White on the Kentucky Colonels’ album Appalachian Swing!
During his time at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, in 1968, Barenberg crossed paths with banjo virtuoso Pete Wernick. Two years afterward the pair teamed with Tony Trischka, Kenny Kosek, and John Miller to launch the influential bluegrass group Country Cooking. In the four years the ensemble existed it produced the landmark LPs Country Cooking and 26 Bluegrass Instrumentals and supported mandolinist Frank Wakefield on a separate recording.
When Country Cooking dissolved in 1975, Barenberg briefly turned to electric guitar in the jazz-rock outfit Carried Away. Discouraged by industry pressures, he set the instrument aside between 1975 and 1977 after settling in New York, where he joined Trischka, Miller, and fiddler Matt Glaser to create the forward-looking bluegrass band Heartlands. Though Heartlands never issued its own album, the group supplied the backing for Barenberg’s first solo effort, the 1980 release Cowboy Calypso.
After moving to Boston he performed with various ad-hoc ensembles and offered guitar and mandolin instruction at the Music Emporium in Cambridge. In 1982 he united with Glaser and fiddler-mandolinist Jay Ungar in the wide-ranging string band Fiddle Fever, cutting two albums during his tenure. He also collaborated with Glaser and mandolinist Andy Statman in the brief experimental bluegrass-jazz project Laughing Hands.
Since arriving in Nashville, Barenberg has frequently partnered with dobro specialist and producer Jerry Douglas. Along with providing accompaniment for Irish singer Maura O’Connell, the two musicians joined upright bassist Edgar Meyer for the trio album Skip, Hop & Wobble.
In the studio Barenberg has contributed to countless publishing demos and has appeared on recordings by Béla Fleck, Hazel Dickens, Mel Tillis, and Randy Travis. He has likewise been featured on Homespun Tapes and Videos releases such as How to Play Bluegrass Guitar and Teach Yourself Bluegrass Guitar. For the track “Little Monk” from his 2007 album When at Last he received a Grammy nomination in the Best Country Instrumental Performance category.
Albums
