Electric violinist Tracy Silverman made his professional debut at age 13, appearing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; after attending the Chicago Musical College, he was accepted to Juilliard, where he studied under Ivan Galamian and Sam Rhodes. In addition to performing in the orchestras of Leonard Bernstein, Gerard Schwartz, Sixten Ehrling and countless others, Silverman also served as a member of the experimental New York City band Stradivarius; following a move to Minneapolis, he formed the like-minded Motherlode, which subsequently morphed into the trio Gutbucket. Silverman then spent the next four years touring with the avant-jazz group Turtle Island String Quartet, eventually relocating to Oakland, CA and setting up his own recording studio, GutLab. In addition to producing and appearing on many Windham Hill label releases, he also toured regularly with guitarist Alvaro Pierri in the duo Altra. ~ Jason Ankeny