Jim VanCleve is such a familiar name in bluegrass and acoustic music circles, it seems like he’s been an integral part of the scene for multiple decades. That’s an illusion, but ample testimony to his far reaching influence. He’s only been playing professionally for a little more than one decade and has yet to reach his 27th birthday. Yet, he’s left his mark in the studio as a much sought after session musician and producer. He has injected soul and fire into such influential bands as Rambler’s Choice, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and, of course, Mountain Heart.

Born in Florida and later relocating to Waynesville and then Canton in western North Carolina, Jim was steeped more in the old-time tradition and the music of new acoustic pioneers Tony Rice, David Grisman, and Mark O’Connor than in the standard repertoire of the founding fathers, a musical upbringing that accounts for much of his provocatively fresh and original sound. He landed gigs with Lou Reid & Carolina and Ric-O-Chet while still a senior in high school and later became a member of Rambler’s Choice, whose powerful CD, Sounds of the Mountains, was released by Rounder in 1998. That led to a brief stint with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver where Jim met banjoist Barry Abernathy. Eight months later, he would help co-found Mountain Heart with Barry, guitarist Steve Gulley, mandolinist Adam Steffey, and bassist Johnny Dowdle. The rest, as they say, is history.

Jim Van Cleve is beaming these days. He’s a member of one of the hardest-driving and innovative bands in bluegrass history; he’s got a block busting new project, his solo debut on Rural Rhythm Records, No Apologies, which features a chart busting single sung by Ronnie Bowman, “Let the Big Dog Eat,” and a Grammy award-nominated instrumental, “Nature of the Beast”; and his wife, Desneige, just gave birth to their first, Ryann Yvonne VanCleve, born in November 2006...

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