Tony Rice, A Giant Of The Acoustic Guitar, Dead At 69

Enlarge this image


Tony Rice performing in 2000.





Stephen A. Ide/Getty Images



hide caption



toggle caption


Stephen A. Ide/Getty Images




J.D. Crowe and the New South — «Summer Wages



Universal Music Group
YouTube


It was during this period that Rice first heard the music of mandolinist David Grisman, who was pushing boundaries even further. So Rice moved back to California to join Grisman’s Quintet in San Francisco. This is when the guitarist truly stepped out as a leading voice in new acoustic music. The musicians studied improvisation and chord theory with jazz guitarist John Carlini and Rice grew exponentially. (In 1995, the two released one of the most beautiful guitar duo albums ever recorded, River Suite for Two Guitars.)




Tony Rice and John Carlini «Banister River



Universal Music Group
YouTube


He eventually left Grisman to form the Tony Rice Unit, which played everything from jazz to bluegrass.

Rice also recorded duet albums with Grisman, multi-instrumentalist Ricky Skaggs and fellow guitarist Norman Blake. He collaborated with banjo player Bela Fleck and co-led the Bluegrass Album Band.




Tony Rice Unit «Gasology



Universal Music Group
YouTube


But the road took a toll on Rice. He had to stop singing in the mid-1990s because of a condition called muscle tension dysphonia, which constricted the muscles around his voice box. And by 2013, Rice’s fierce guitar playing led to lateral epicondylitis (commonly called tennis elbow) and he played his beloved Martin D-28 (which once belonged to Clarence White) for the last time in public at his induction to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.