Vassar Clements and the Little Big Band
Vassar Clements is considered one of the world’s most talented and versatile living fiddle players. His phenomenal ability to play virtually any kind of music—bluegrass, country, pop, rock, jazz, and swing—has garnered him numerous awards, including five Grammy nominations and a track record that involves more than 2,000 recording performances.
Clements’ career spans more than 50 years, and his résumé reads like a Hall of Fame roster. At the age of 14, Clements joined Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys. Playing with the who’s who of bluegrass landed him in a watershed recording session in 1972, when he was asked to participate in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s landmark May the Circle Be Unbroken project. That exposure paved the way for Clements to back up musical luminaries outside the world of bluegrass, including Jerry Garcia, Paul McCartney, the Allman Brothers, Linda Ronstadt, and many others.
This artist appears in Jubilee #511: Vassar Clements and the Little Big Band.