Jody Stecher

Johnathan Allen "Jody" Stecher (born June 1, 1946) is an American singer and musician, who plays bluegrass and old-time music on banjo, mandolin, fiddle and guitar, and Dagar-vani dhrupad on the sursringar, a rare Indian instrument that is a baritone relative of the sarod.[1]

Jody Stecher
Birth nameJohnathan Allen Stecher
Born (1946-06-01) June 1, 1946
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Occupation(s)Singer, musician
InstrumentsBanjo, mandolin, fiddle, guitar, sursringar
Years active1973–present
Associated actsKrishna Bhatt, Kate Brislin, Alasdair Fraser, Kenny Hall
Websitejodyandkate.com

Early life

Jonathan Allan Stecher was born on June 1, 1946 in Brooklyn, New York. At the age of twelve he found a dusty fretless Gatcomb banjo in an antique shop and bought it for two dollars. After gaining a solid grounding in bluegrass, cajun, blues and Scottish folk music, he studied Hindustani classical music for 3 years with Ali Akbar Khan and for 10 years with Zia Mohiuddin Dagar.[1]

Musical career

He has collaborated with Krishna Bhatt on an unusual album of fusion music "Rasa" (1982). He met Kate Brislin (a former member of "Any Old time string Band") in 1974 and started performing actively as a duo in 1985; they married on 29 July 1987. He is regarded as one of the leading traditional folk artists in America and his recordings have served a large and diverse group of musicians, including Jerry Jeff Walker, Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Peter Rowan, Martin Simpson, Seldom Scene, Laurie Lewis, Kathy Kallick, Alasdair Fraser and Hot Rize. He has also written liner notes for many albums.[1]

He recorded the field recordings (with Peter K. Siegel) and wrote the liner notes for the record "The Real Bahamas."[2]

David Bromberg once said, "Jody Stecher was basically my teacher. He opened my ears to more beautiful music than anyone else ever did... more than I ever knew existed. He is also one of my favorite musicians on Earth to play with. I have never known anyone so intensely and completely enveloped in music. It's my suspicion that if you drained all the music out of Jody, you could carry what was left around in an eye dropper."

Jody has been twice nominated for a Grammy with his wife Kate: in 1993 for "Our Town" ("Best Traditional Folk Album"), and again in 1998 for "Heart Songs: The Old Time Country Songs Of Utah Phillips" ("Best Traditional Folk Album of 1997"). More recently he has devoted albums to singing traditional folk songs.

Jody Stecher's sister, Janet Stecher, is a professional singer in the duo Rebel Voices and leads the Seattle Labor Chorus.

Discography

Solo albums.

  • Snake Baked Hoecake (1973)
  • Going up On the Mountain (1977)
  • Oh the Wind and Rain (1999)

Collaboration - Jody Stecher and Krishna Bhatt.

  • Rasa (1982)

Collaboration - Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin.[3]

  • A Song That Will Linger (1988)
  • Blue Lightning (1991)
  • Our Town (1992)
  • Stay Awhile (1995)
  • Heart Songs: The Old Time Country Songs of Utah Phillips (1997)
  • Songs of the Carter Family (2000)
  • Return (2010)

Collaboration - Alasdair Fraser and Jody Stecher.

  • The Driven Bow (1989)

Collaboration - Perfect Strangers, Rebel, 2003 with Bob Black, Chris Brashear, Peter McLaughlin, Ed Neff, and Forrest Rose

References
  1. "Jody Stecer". Discogs.com. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  2. "The Real Bahamas in Music and Song".
  3. "John Stecher & Kate Brislin". AllMusic. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
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