Two-time Grammy Award-Winning Violinist, Mads Tolling pays tribute to his favorite jazz violinists, Grappelli, Ponty, Asmussen and Stuff Smith.

Two-time Grammy Award-winning violinist Mads Tolling pays tribute to the jazz violinists who inspired him growing up--Stéphane Grappelli, Jean-Luc Ponty, Svend Asmussen, and Stuff Smith.

Mads Tolling is the 2016 winner of the DownBeat Critics Poll Rising Star Award for violin. A former member of Stanley Clarke's band and the Turtle Island Quartet, he has spent the past four years touring and recording with Bob Weir & Wolf Bros. In addition to collaborating with legends such as Kenny Barron, Ramsey Lewis, Paquito D'Rivera, and Leo Kottke, Mads leads his own groups: Mads Tolling & The Mads Men and the Mads Tolling Quartet. His work has been featured on NPR's Morning Edition and in The Washington Post.

Originally from Copenhagen, Denmark, Mads moved to San Francisco in 2003, where he still resides. In 2014, he returned to his roots by forming a new quartet with Danish jazz musicians. Their first album, Celebrating Svend Asmussen (2016), honored the jazz violin icon's centennial--just before Asmussen's passing. Mads had the privilege of knowing Asmussen personally, receiving a generous donation of the violinist's private sheet music collection during their visits.

Masters of Jazz Violin features guitarist Jacob Fischer and bassist Matthias Petri. The album offers fresh, creative arrangements of jazz violin classics, including Grappelli's 'Swing 39,' Chick Corea's 'Armando's Rumba,' and Hoagy Carmichael's 'Stardust.' This project is a heartfelt tribute to the artists who reshaped Mads' view of the violin--an instrument that has since defined his life and career.

Mads' journey in jazz violin took a major turn when Jean-Luc Ponty personally recommended him for his first major gig with bassist Stanley Clarke after graduating from Berklee College of Music. That opportunity led to years of international touring and collaborations.