Tim Ware
Encyclopedia
Tim Ware is a composer and musician, born in Sacramento, California.
He came to prominence with the release, in 1980, of The Tim Ware Group on Kaleidoscope Records. The Tim Ware Group, working with a number of other talented San Francisco Bay Area
musicians, helped define the emerging genre of New Acoustic Music
]http://www.hyperarts.com/mandolin-music/new-acoustic-music.html. The band featured Tim, who also composed all the music, on mandolin
and guitar
, Bob Alekno on guitar and mandolin, John Tenney on violin
, Sharon O'Connor on cello
and Kenneth Miller on acoustic bass
. The album also featured David Grisman
, Darol Anger
and Mike Marshall on the mandolin quartet piece "Spiral Moons" (which Rosanne Cash
cited as one of her favorite tunes in a Down Beat
magazine article from that period). In the spring of 1980, "Spiral Moons" had its world premiere at the Great American Music Hall
in San Francisco, performed by Tim, Darol, Mike, and Mark O'Connor
, and a few months later, this same quartet reprised that performance at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, California
. The album photography was done by former Rolling Stone
chief photographer Baron Wolman
.
In 1983, The Tim Ware Group released their second album, Shelter From The Norm, on Rounder Records
, with David Balakrishnan replacing John Tenney on violin. Although the Tim Ware Group, in the mandolin-based edition, disbanded in 1985, the music generates interest to this day (Tim was featured as Artist of the Week on the Mandozine website.).
In 1985, Tim formed the Tim Ware Group v2, with Tim playing guitar, David Balakrishnan (now in The Turtle Island String Quartet) on violin, George Brooks on saxophone, Mark van Wageningen on electric bass
and Paul van Wageningen on drums. The band toured and recorded and disbanded in 1995.
In 1992, Tim composed "Los Surf" for inclusion on the debut album by Teisco Del Rey (aka Dan Forte), "The Many Moods of Teisco Del Rey." And in 1996, Tim reimagined "The Theme From Lawrence of Arabia
" as a classic surf music epic, which was featured on Teisco's second release, "Teisco Del Rey Plays Music For Lovers."
In 1997, Tim started HyperArts Web Design, which remains a thriving business.
In recent years, Tim has scored and performed the soundtracks for several Oregon Public Broadcasting
documentaries, two of which have won Emmy Award
s, and he continues to experiment with musical sound. He is also the creator and curator of ThomasPynchon.com and PynchonWiki.com, the Web's largest resources for American novelist Thomas Pynchon
. In 2000, Tim was interviewed for and featured in a feature-length documentary on the seldom-seen American author.
In 2005, a "greatest hits" CD consisting of digitally remastered tunes from the Tim Ware Group's two albums was released by Menus and Music, a publishing company started by Sharon O'Connor. In 2006, his music was used as the soundtrack for the BBC Four
radio drama, "Monkeyface."
Tim is currently at work on a full-length CD of surf and surf-inspired music.
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
musicians, helped define the emerging genre of New Acoustic Music
New Acoustic Music
New Acoustic Music is a music genre that blends influences from folk, bluegrass, jazz and world music and uses only acoustic instruments. Beginning in the 1970's it has been developed by artists such as Bela Fleck, Leo Kottke Tim Ware, Tony Rice, Mike Marshall, Darol Anger and others. *Neil V...
]http://www.hyperarts.com/mandolin-music/new-acoustic-music.html. The band featured Tim, who also composed all the music, on mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, Bob Alekno on guitar and mandolin, John Tenney on violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, Sharon O'Connor on cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
and Kenneth Miller on acoustic bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
. The album also featured David Grisman
David Grisman
David Grisman is an American bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist and composer of acoustic music. In the early 1990s, he started the Acoustic Disc record label in an effort to preserve and spread acoustic or instrumental music.-Biography:Grisman grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey...
, Darol Anger
Darol Anger
-Career:Darol Anger entered popular music at the age of 21 as a founding member of The David Grisman Quintet. Anger played fiddle to David Grisman's mandolin in The David Grisman Quintet's 1977 debut. He co-founded the Turtle Island String Quartet with David Balakrishnan in 1985 and performed,...
and Mike Marshall on the mandolin quartet piece "Spiral Moons" (which Rosanne Cash
Rosanne Cash
Rosanne Cash is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of the late country music singer Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Liberto Cash Distin....
cited as one of her favorite tunes in a Down Beat
Down Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
magazine article from that period). In the spring of 1980, "Spiral Moons" had its world premiere at the Great American Music Hall
Great American Music Hall
The Great American Music Hall is a concert hall in San Francisco, California. It is located on O'Farrell Street in the Tenderloin neighborhood on the same block as the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theater...
in San Francisco, performed by Tim, Darol, Mike, and Mark O'Connor
Mark O'Connor
Mark O'Connor is an American bluegrass, jazz, country and classical violinist fiddler, composer and music teacher. O'Connor's music is wide-ranging, critically acclaimed, and he has received numerous awards for both his playing and his composition...
, and a few months later, this same quartet reprised that performance at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
. The album photography was done by former Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
chief photographer Baron Wolman
Baron Wolman
Baron Wolman is an American photographer best known for his work in the late 1960s for the music magazine Rolling Stone, becoming the magazine's first editor of photography from 1967 to 1970.-Early photographic career:...
.
In 1983, The Tim Ware Group released their second album, Shelter From The Norm, on Rounder Records
Rounder Records
Rounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
, with David Balakrishnan replacing John Tenney on violin. Although the Tim Ware Group, in the mandolin-based edition, disbanded in 1985, the music generates interest to this day (Tim was featured as Artist of the Week on the Mandozine website.).
In 1985, Tim formed the Tim Ware Group v2, with Tim playing guitar, David Balakrishnan (now in The Turtle Island String Quartet) on violin, George Brooks on saxophone, Mark van Wageningen on electric bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and Paul van Wageningen on drums. The band toured and recorded and disbanded in 1995.
In 1992, Tim composed "Los Surf" for inclusion on the debut album by Teisco Del Rey (aka Dan Forte), "The Many Moods of Teisco Del Rey." And in 1996, Tim reimagined "The Theme From Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence of Arabia (film)
Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 British film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel through his British company, Horizon Pictures, with the screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. The film stars Peter O'Toole in the title role. It is widely...
" as a classic surf music epic, which was featured on Teisco's second release, "Teisco Del Rey Plays Music For Lovers."
In 1997, Tim started HyperArts Web Design, which remains a thriving business.
In recent years, Tim has scored and performed the soundtracks for several Oregon Public Broadcasting
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Oregon Public Broadcasting is the primary television and radio public broadcasting network for most of Oregon as well as southern Washington. With its headquarters and television studios in Portland, OPB consists of five full-power television stations, dozens of VHF or UHF translators, and over...
documentaries, two of which have won Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s, and he continues to experiment with musical sound. He is also the creator and curator of ThomasPynchon.com and PynchonWiki.com, the Web's largest resources for American novelist Thomas Pynchon
Thomas Pynchon
Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. is an American novelist. For his most praised novel, Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon received the National Book Award, and is regularly cited as a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature...
. In 2000, Tim was interviewed for and featured in a feature-length documentary on the seldom-seen American author.
In 2005, a "greatest hits" CD consisting of digitally remastered tunes from the Tim Ware Group's two albums was released by Menus and Music, a publishing company started by Sharon O'Connor. In 2006, his music was used as the soundtrack for the BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
radio drama, "Monkeyface."
Tim is currently at work on a full-length CD of surf and surf-inspired music.
Discography
- The Tim Ware Group – 1980 Kaleidoscope Records
- Shelter From The Norm – 1983 Rounder/Varrick
- New Acoustic Music – 1985 Rounder/Ryko (one track)
- The Many Moods of Teisco Del Rey – 1992 Rounder Records (Composer)
- Plectrasonics – Nashville Mandolin Ensemble – 1995 CMH (Composer)
- Teisco Del Rey Plays Music For Lovers – 1996 Upstart Records (Composer)
- Baroque Brazilian & Contemporary – Enigmatica – 2004 Uncommon Strings (Composer)