Phil Lawrence

Range of styles from hot acoustic swing jazz to gentle nuanced mandolin playing accompanied by vintage acoustic instruments. If a duo or trio is requested the music can be more reflective, yet every bit as interesting. We arrive early and test our equipment, and we perform with passion and intensity. We listen carefully to each other, trading solos and building harmonies that round our sound and enhance the musical experience.

Phil Lawrence composes music and plays a vintage 1912 Gibson mandolin. His repertoire incorporates acoustic hot-swing instrumentals, jazz ballads, folk songs, instrumental improvisations, blues, and original compositions. Phil can play as a solo artist on mandolin, acoustic guitar, and harmonica or in ensembles as a duo, trio, quartet, or quintet. As a smaller unit, Phil Lawrence's mandolin provides the perfect background for special events such as weddings and receptions. He usually is accompanied by one or two acoustic guitars, violin, and upright bass. His main influences are David Grisman (Grateful Dead, Garcia/Grisman, Old and in the Way, David Grisman Quintet), Jorma Kaukonnen (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna), Chris Thile, and Sam Bush for just a few.

Phil Lawrence has been playing mandolin since 1978 when he bought his first round back mandolin on a whim. He began studying with Rudy Cipolla, the San Francisco Italian-American composer and mandolinist. He quickly learned to play all different styles of music—bluegrass, folk, rock, jazz, reggae, and even klezmer. Phil produced and published independent recordings of his original compositions in the 1980’s and 1990’s under his own label, Mandolinimal Productions. In 2004 Phil was invited by David Grisman and Mike Marshall to work as an assistant instructor at David Grisman’s Mandolin Symposium in Santa Cruz, Ca. and he performed on stage with David Grisman, Mike Marshall, Chris Thile, Mike Compton, Don Stiernberg, and Radim Zenkl. Phil plays a 1912 vintage Gibson F2 mandolin, a 1988 Martin D-28 guitar, and blues harmonica. He has also played with The Windshield Cowboys, an Americana band, Silk and Steel, Teresa Tudury, and Out of the Blue, a swing/blues/country band. He has many CDs available for download on his Bandcamp page or most streaming and download platforms : (link hidden). Phil makes his home in Sonoma County, California, one hour north of the Golden Gate Bridge, where he teaches mandolin between gigs.

Phil's professional experience ensures that clients will receive the highest quality musical performance by experts on their respective instruments. Clients can choose to hire a duo, trio, quartet, quintet, or sextet. We bring enthusiasm and a desire to play the best we possibly can under any circumstance. We can provide light amplification when required. All the musicians have formal musical training.

Typically we bring our own sound equipment. If we play outdoors we require shade from the sun and heaters if we play into the evening if it gets much colder than 65 degrees. We can supply a stage plot on request, depending on the size of the ensemble.