Features

Chris Thile: Genius Fellow

Photo by Dean Budnick

Earlier this month the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation named the annual recipients of its Fellowship Grants, perhaps better known as the “Genius Grants.” Each year since 1981 the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation have honored two to three dozen U.S. citizens who “show exceptional merit and promise for continued and enhanced creative work.” The 2012 roster includes individuals from a variety of field such as author Junot Díaz, economist Raj Chetty, historian Dylan C. Penningroth, theoretical computer scientist Daniel Spielman and neurosurgeon Benjamin Warf. Of particular interest to Relix readers is new MacArthur Fellow Chris Thile.

Here is how the Foundation describes the musician: “Chris Thile is a young mandolin virtuoso and composer whose lyrical fusion of traditional bluegrass with elements from a range of other musical traditions is giving rise to a new genre of contemporary music. With a broad outlook that encompasses progressive bluegrass, classical, rock, and jazz, Thile is transcending the borders of conventionally circumscribed genres in compositions for his own ensembles and frequent cross-genre collaborations. Although rooted in the rhythmic structure of bluegrass, his early pieces for his long-time trio, Nickel Creek, have the improvisatory feel of jazz; his current ensemble, Punch Brothers, evokes the ethos of classical chamber music even while adhering to the traditional instrumentation of the bluegrass quintet. The Blind Leaving the Blind, a song suite on Punch Brothers’ first album ( Punch, 2008 ), extends the sound of bluegrass in its range of harmonies and polyrhythms. Thile further explores the symphonic dimensions of the string quintet in both the improvised and elaborately composed works of Antifogmatic (2010). Among his many collaborations, Thile has expanded the reach of the mandolin in Ad Astra per Alas Porci (2009), a three-movement mandolin concerto, and in his solo mandolin interpretations of Bach’s works for violin, which showcase his technical mastery and fluid, soulful phrasing. Through his adventurous, multifaceted artistry as both a composer and performer with various ensembles, Thile is creating a distinctly American canon for the mandolin and a new musical aesthetic for performers and audiences alike.”

In the following interview Thile talks about the award and its impact on the music to come (and answers a question about a Mike Gordon session to boot).

So before you received the call did you have any inkling that you might be named a MacArthur Fellow?

Not at all. This literally came out of the clear blue sky which is why I’m still sort of stumbling around in a bit of a daze. I mean it’s really out of the clear blue sky.

Is it something that anyone had mentioned to you in passing over the years as a possibility?

Long ago, maybe five or six years ago, someone told me that I had been nominated. But I had no idea how far along in the process, or how many people get nominated every year, or anything like that. I still don’t know, how it works, they’re very secretive about that. When I found out that I had been made a Fellow, it kind of feels like an award and a mandate at the same time, which I think is what they intend. Mr. Socolow [Director of the MacArthur Fellows Program] first told me over the phone, he sort of calmed me down and assured me this wasn’t a prank, and said they were proud to invest in me. And I just wanted to hang up right then and get to work. You know? Like, “Don’t worry, I promise not to let you down, I promise not to be the dunce in this class.” I think any serious musician lights a pretty white hot fire under themselves but my sense was that my fire was being stoked, getting hotter and burning more brightly, and I just can’t wait to get to work.

Have you contemplated what it is you want to do? In theory it provides the resources for you to pursue whatever you wish…

Well the lovely thing for me is there’s a sense to wanting to kick things into higher gear but my plans won’t change. There’s a bunch of stuff I want to do. I have a lot of very dear ideas that have been kicking around for a long time. Like they’re sort of in the barrel fermentation process but things get pushed back as practical considerations come to the fore. You gotta pay rent, especially in New York City which is very inspiring but very expensive. And just the idea that I’m going to be able to say no to some things that are lucrative but that are largely creatively bankrupt, in favor of sitting on the couch playing the mandolin to be able to feed those ideas…

I remember your banjo player, your fellow Punch Brother, Mr. Pikenly he won a share of sweet cash from Steve Martin a couple years ago [Noam Pikelny won the first annual Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass, which comes with a $50,000 check].

Yes he did, and it was a very exciting day for all of us.

So do you feel like you can finally thumb your nose back at him?

[Laughs] I was one of the first to give him a big old bear hug after that happened. It was so great, he sent us a text saying to meet him at a cocktail bar in Brooklyn called Clover Club. He was like “Please meet me at Clover Club, I have good news.” We were all in town and it worked out incredibly. We all showed up, and he started buying everyone cocktails and then sort of made the announcement and it was just, it was so funny, and what foresight from Steve, who is such a remarkable man, and such a great man to set something like that up for a community that doesn’t have a whole lot of grants and awards.