David Nelson McCarthy Biography

From an early age, David McCarthy sang in a church choir and played guitar. He received a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Michigan; studied jazz and improvisational music; taught guitar; and, in 1980, attended the Naropa Institute in Boulder, CO, studying with core faculty Bill Douglas and Jerry Granelli and taking seminars with Charlie Haden, John Abercrombie, and Oregon (including classical guitar with Ralph Towner). In 1981, he served as teaching assistant to the head of the Naropa Music Department and played professionally from 1983 to 1989. He studied mainstream jazz in New York City with Renard Hoover and Jack Wilkins and is cofounder of the avant-garde band Mosaic Art Ensemble (1983) and chamber jazz ensemble Soundworks (1987).Desert Island PicksJ. S. Bach Well-Tempered Clavier (Book II) (Leonhardt)Mozart Late Symphonies (39, 40, 41)Christopher Parkening Parkening Plays BachJohn Williams First MeditationsMonk/Coltrane Monk/TraneParker Complete Savoy RecordingsAbercrombie/Tower Sargasso SeaJohn Coltrane Love SupremeJohn Coltrane BalladsJim Hall/Bill Evans IntermodulationPaul Desmond/Jim Hall Complete Quartet Recordings (Mosaic Set), All Music Guide