Michael Manring is a bassist and composer known for his innovative approach to the instrument and his adventurous solo concerts. He has appeared on over 200 recordings and toured throughout the world. He has received Grammy and Bammie nominations, the Berklee School of Music Distinguished Alumni Award, two Gold Records, two Just Plain Folks awards and the Bassist of the Year award from the readers of Bass Player Magazine. Michael is best known for radically expanding the limits of the fretless electric bass. He was chosen as "Bassist of the Year" in Bass Player Magazine's reader's poll in 1994, and has been nominated for a Bammie and a Grammy. L.A. Jazz Scene says "Manring is creating musical history".
Jaco Pastorius called Manring "One bad mother****".
Video: Michael Manring in Sligo Oct 2009
In his own words:
M usic is my earliest memory. A ll but one of my grandparents were musicians; all but one of my three siblings are, too. N early everyone discouraged me from pursuing solo bass, but I just couldn't let go of the passion I felt for it. R arely am I ever bored. I feel lucky to have realized so many of my dreams. N owadays I never seem to have enough time to practice. G rowing and learning are my continual goals.
Hailed by many as the worldis leading solo bassist, Michael Manring has been pushing back the boundaries of whatis possible on the bass guitar for over two decades. While his technical skill and innovations always make an impression, it is his ability to communicate on a profound emotional level that most touches listeners. As editor Tom Darter wrote in Keyboard magazine after seeing one of Michael's solo concerts, "Forget his astounding technique and musicality; forget his absolute command of his instruments; forget how seamlessly the musical ideas and the performance of them were wedded together...The enlightenment came most from feeling (seeing, hearing) the joy Michael felt to be playing...his brand of transcendental chops and musical understanding...was all in the service of the final outcome, the joy of making music."
Building on the conceptions of his teacher, the late bass legend Jaco Pastorius, Michael has developed a new approach to the instrument that includes unorthodox tunings, techniques and methodologies. He has honed his skills on hundreds of recordings as a session musician and thousands of concerts throughout the world. Michael has worked with a surprisingly diverse collection of musicians from New Age keyboardist Suzanne Ciani to avant-improv guitar innovator Henry Kaiser to celebrated folk troubadour John Gorka to experimental post-metal rockers Tim Alexander (Primus) and Alex Skolnick (Testament) to electro-pop pioneer Thomas Dolby. His long-term collaboration and close friendship with the late acoustic guitar genius Michael Hedges led to a lengthy stint as house bassist for Windham Hill Records; a label for whom he also worked as a solo artist, releasing four recordings under his own name: Unusual Weather (1986), Toward the Center of the Night (1989), Drastic Measures (1991) and Thonk (1994). These, along with his 1998 release The Book of Flame on the Alchemy record label earned him an international reputation as "a master of the fretless bass without rival." (Guitar Club Magazine, Italy). He has garnered two gold records, Grammy and Bammie nominations, a Berklee School of Music Distinguished Alumni Award, two Just Plain Folks Awards and numerous Bass Player Magazine Reader's Poll awards including 1994 Bassist of the Year. He was also the subject of a recent PBS TV documentary, The Artist's Profile: Michael Manring.
