Mike Marshall

Mike Marshall (born Michael James Marshall, July 17, 1957, in New Castle, Pennsylvania) is a mandolinist who has collaborated with David Grisman and Darol Anger.

He grew up in Lakeland, Florida. When he was 18, he won Florida statewide contests on fiddle and mandolin. He considers his discovery of David Grisman's music a significant event in his life, admiring how Grisman fused jazz and Latin styles into his own form of bluegrass. After moving to California, Marshall collaborated with Grisman on film music and joined his quintet. He was a member of the David Grisman Quintet from 1985 to 1990, touring with Jerry Douglas, Béla Fleck, Tony Rice, Mark O'Connor, Stéphane Grappelli, and Darol Anger.

Marshall and Anger collaborated often during their careers. They founded Montreux, with Barbara Higbie and Michael Manring, and the supergroup Psychograss, with Tony Trischka and Todd Phillips. Like Grisman, both groups played an eclectic style of music that combined classical, folk, jazz, and bluegrass. Marshall has performed Brazilian music with the band Choro Famoso and on his second solo album, Brazil: Duets. He released his debut solo album, Gator Strut, in 1989.

Marshall is a virtuoso on the mandolin. He plays a 1924 Gibson F-5 mandolin signed by Lloyd Loar. He helped start the Modern Mandolin Quartet. He collaborated with mandolinist Chris Thile on Into the Cauldron in 2003. His wife, Caterina Lichtenberg, is a German classical mandolinist. He and Lichtenberg teach online mandolin lessons through ArtistWorks.

Discography