HARVEY, DAVID (c.1958-)

David is Dorsey Harvey’s son and, as a result, grew up listening to people like Red Allen and Frank Wakefield, who would come over to play with his dad. He learned to play both mandolin and fiddle and play them well. When he was fourteen years old, he played some shows with Red Allen, and at seventeen he started playing full-time with the Falls City Ramblers in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. He played again with Red Allen and then moved to Colorado to help start a bluegrass, jazz, and swing ensemble called the Reasonable Band. Returning to Dayton, he worked with Larry Sparks, where his jazzy/bluesy feel on the fiddle and mandolin fit very well with Larry’s soulful guitar playing. In 1989, he, his wife Jan, and her sister Jill formed Wild and Blue and played together for twelve years. After that, he played with Larry Cordle and helped to record the bluegrass hit, “Murder On Music Row.” He played with Harley Allen for a while, produced the highly regarded album Moody Bluegrass for Rounder, and in 2006 was playing in Claire Lynch’s band. David became interested in repairing and building instruments, working for the top luthiers in the country. He eventually became a master luthier and went to work for Gibson Instruments in Nashville. In 2016, he is the head of Gibson’s Mandolin Division. He keeps his hand in performing by working again with Larry Cordle.

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