The David Grisman Quintet

David Grisman (born 1945 in Hackensack, New Jersey) is a noted bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist and composer of acoustic music. He started the Acoustic Disc record label in an effort to preserve and spread acoustic or instrumental music.

David Grisman (born 1945 in Hackensack, New Jersey) is a noted bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist and composer of acoustic music. He started the Acoustic Disc record label in an effort to preserve and spread acoustic or instrumental music.

David Grisman's nickname, "Dawg" was affectionately assigned by his close friend Jerry Garcia (the two met at a Bill Monroe show). "Dawg Music" is what he calls his mixture of bluegrass and Django Reinhardt-Stéphane Grappelli-influenced jazz, as highlighted on his 1977 album "Hot Dawg". Stephane Grappelli played on a couple of tracks on the Hot Dawg album and then the 1984 recording "Stephane Grappelli and David Grisman Live". It was his early fusions with Reinhardt-era Jazz that led to the formation of the genre known as newgrass. Grisman, along with New Grass Revival are generally considered the modern day Bill Monroes to this new bluegrass-influenced sound.