Vassar Clements is one of the most celebrated fiddlers of all time, and one of the most revered instrumentalists in bluegrass music. Although he grew up listening to jazz and swing music, Vassar Clements became one of Bill Monroe’s “Bluegrass Boys” in 1949 at the age of 14. He became a session player in the 1960′s and in the early 1970′s after a stint with the Earl Scruggs review, Clements helped to expand the scope of bluegrass by joining in the creation of two legendary albums: “Old and in the Way” which included The Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.”

These records helped introduce bluegrass – and Vassar Clements – to rock and folk fans, and led him to tour with the likes of The Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers. In all Vassar has recorded on more than 2000 albums including those of Hank Williams,Sr., The Byrds, Woody Herman, The Monkees, Buck Owens, Vince Gill, Linda Ronstadt, Paul McCartney, BB King, and Willie Nelson.

Vassar also gained respect as a jazz player by recording with Stephane Grappelli and Miles Davis’ former band members Dave Holland, John Abercrombie and Jimmy Cobb. Considered a “musician’s musician,” Vassar has had an incredible career lasting over 50 years that has earned him the respect reserved for the most gifted artists, and is one of the most popular touring instrumentalists the instrument has ever known.

On “Full Circle” Vassar returns to his bluegrass roots with an all star cast that includes Peter Rowan, Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, John Cowan, Bryan Sutton, Josh Graves, Jeff Hanna, JD Crowe, Bill Troy, Alan O’Bryant, Ricky Skaggs, Jim & Jesse and many more. Shining through it all is the breathtaking creativity of Vassar Clements.We are saddened to report the death of the fabulous Vassar Clements at age 77 on Tuesday, August 16, 2005.  OMS Records released two recordings by Vassar over the past few years, and like everyone in this business, we had enormous respect for his contributions to his instrument.  Basically he defined his own type of music and was, without a doubt one of the greatest musicians in acoustic music. He was a true fiddle virtuoso and became a studio favorite who played on some 2,000 recordings.

Vassar had been diagnosed in March of this 2005 with lung cancer and he died in August of 2005.  His last performance was Feb. 4 in Jamestown, N.Y.  His work bridged a variety of styles, including country, jazz, bluegrass, rock ‘n’ roll and classical. He began his career as a bluegrass musician and played with Bill Monroe, but his unique style encompassed jazz and country, and he recorded with a wide variety of musicians, including Paul McCartney, Dickey Betts, Bonnie Raitt, the Grateful Dead and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

Most importantly, Vassar was a friend and we will miss him.