One of the best contemporary instrumentalists in the field of folk or bluegrass, Matt Flinner has played with the Trischkas, Tim and Mollie O'Brien, Sally Van Meter and the group Sugarbeat, as well as releasing his own solo albums for the Compass label. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Flinner was a banjo prodigy during his teenage years, later moving to mandolin; he has remained proficient on both, however, winning the Winfield National Championships in 1990 for banjo and the following year for mandolin. After joining the group Sugarbeat, and touring with several of the biggest contemporary folk artists around, Matt Flinner formed his own band (guitarist David Grier, Jerry Douglas on dobro, and fiddlers Stuart Duncan, Darol Anger and Tim O'Brien) and recorded The View From Here with Grammy-winning producer Todd Phillips. The album was released in early 1998 on Compass Records. Latitude followed in early 2001. Based in Idaho, Flinner also plays and records with the Judith Edelman Band. ~ John Bush