Mark O'Connor: Biography

• Overview
• Discography
• Biography
• Related Artists

• Yo-Yo Ma
• Edgar Meyer
• Béla Fleck
• Stuart Duncan
• Sam Bush
• Evan Marshall
• Mike Marshall

• Stephane Grappelli

• The Crook Brothers
• Nickel Creek

• Strength in Numbers
• Mark O'Connor's Hot Swing Trio

• Yo-Yo Ma
• Mark Casstevens
• Eddie Bayers
• Larry Byrom
• Terry McMillan
• John Jarvis
• Paul Franklin

Born:

Aug 5, 1961 in Seattle, WA

Genres:

Music, Country Music, Progressive Country Music, Classical Music

Decades Active:

1970's|1980's|1990's|2000's

Artistic Quality

Medium

Cultural Impact

Medium

Popularity

Medium

Ratings Guide

Born and raised in Seattle, O'Connor was always a bit out of sync with his teenage peers. Understandably so, since he was winning fiddle contests and had mapped out a sketchy career path. O'Connor moved to Nashville in 1983, already a former sideman for jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli, a job that allowed him to play the stage at Carnegie Hall. At the time O'Connor arrived in Music City (the postUrban Cowboy era), fiddle was hardly in vogue, and it took a couple of years for him to make his mark. Finally, in 1985 the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band used him in their single "High Horse"; thanks to that work, O'Connor's phone number became a popular one with country record producers. Over the next five years he played on 450 albums, including such stellar projects as Trio by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris; Always Forever by Randy Travis; Killin' Time by Clint Black; and Loving Proof by Ricky Van Shelton. Despite his success, O'Connor gave up session work to concentrate on his own solo career, increasingly rooted in the classical realm thanks to collaborators including YoYo Ma, Wynton Marsalis, and Edgar Meyer.

- Tom Roland, All Music Guide