The Los Angeles Times calls him “Virtuosic.” “Crowd pleaser,” says The New York Times. And Mandolin Magazine proclaims Joe Craven, “One of the most daringly inventive musicians working today.”
“Depending on your taste, this is either sacrilege or the Second Coming. Much of what goes on here defies logic. I just keep recalling that Chuck Berry line about changing the beauty of the melody until it sounds just like a symphony. Or a jazz sextet. Or a rap master. With Joe Craven at the helm the possibilities are endless.”
“Joe Craven’s fiddle and mandolin playing are outstanding.”
“He’s one of the great guys of music.”
“Craven is reinventing the folk idiom….”
“This is a journey not to be missed on any account.”
“A multi-virtuoso, Joe Craven displays a dazzling set of fiery chops on a literal cornucopia of instruments.”
“Joe Craven’s playing will make your jaw drop in wonder and amazement. He’s a dazzling soloist, his virtuosity matched by his ability to swing.”
“Joe Craven is Magical.”
“Everything Joe touches turns to music,’ says David Grisman. No one who saw Joe wring a percussion concerto from his garbage-bag raincoat during a downpour at the Strawberry Music Festival could disagree.”
“I knew that Joe Craven could do most anything in the world. I have always been a sucker for multi-instrumentalists, but I have never seen a player who is so adept on such disparate instruments. His conga work is both smooth and driving, both rhythmic and musical. His mandolin work…is impressive, but, of course, he is really a fiddle player. His fiddle work… leaves me slack-jawed. I find myself, at various times throughout the show, looking for the high-hat. It is nowhere on stage, but it is most certainly in the air. It isn’t until Craven steps away from his instruments and begins his convulsive body slapping and countrified scat/beatbox antics that the riddle reveals itself. The man recognizes no boundaries. He just won’t accept that no one is supposed to be that good at everything.”
“The concept is so bent and the playing so crisp and exciting that fiddler-mandolinist-percussionist Joe Craven’s music interpretations… rock and roll into a great one-world ball of sparkling musicianship and tangled rhythms.”
“I caught the tail end of a solo performance by Joe Craven. I was only able to catch two songs, but those two songs were a life changing experience. He was just incredible. I have met the Master. Joe Craven got up and played “John Henry”on just his mandolin. I have no idea where some of those chords he played came from. They aren’t on my mandolin. At times it was almost as if he was attacking the mandolin instead of playing it. He had this Delta Blues thing going on as well. It was mesmerizing. I wanted him to keep playing for the rest of the afternoon. His last song was In the Pines where he accompanied himself on some weird little drum thing. Drums are evil, except when played by Kenny Malone. Now I have to add Craven on to that list.
If you had asked me if you could play “In the Pines” on a drum, I would have laughed at you. That is before seeing Joe do it. After his set, I sat down and interviewed him for the Twangzine. Joe was an interesting fellow. He made me re-think my definition of Folk Music. It doesn’t all have to be dreadfully earnest songs about dead baby whales and stuff. Folk Music is just what it sounds like.”
“Craven is not only a virtuosic musician but has a wonderful sense of humor as well. Few musicians are as adept at as many different instruments. It truly is an absolute joy to hear and a breath of fresh air for the folk tradition.”
“He’s one of those rare musicians, both as an interpreter of the music he plays and a scholar who’s studied its history… he’s been able to combine his passions – art, history and music—into presenting songs embellished into new tunes that have a timelessness that stays.”
“Brushes and hi-hat? There’s no drum kit up there. Are they using a sampling drum machine? Not a chance. To the surprise and delight of the audience, the trap effects are being produced by… multi-instrumentalist Joe Craven, a man of many hats… a man of many strange sounds.”
“Joe is a treasure in the worlds of string jazz and roots music.”
“…witness the virtuoso musicianship of Joe Craven; music that’ll tickle you behind your ears, tweak your cheek muscles urging you inevitably towards a grin of Amazonian proportions. Craven’s imagination streaks into the stratosphere.”
“When he’s in front of his own trio, playing the mandolin, fiddle and hand drums among more exotic axes, the audience gets 200-proof Craven.”
“Joe Craven is one of a kind. From his outlandish costumes to his dizzying array of unusual instruments, this unpredictable musician takes listeners on a journey through music and its deepest and most unexplored jungles, where dangers and delights await! Be careful what you hand Joe. On second thought, hand him everything you can reach from the dining room and kitchen—and watch him turn the stuff into musical instruments. The man is simply a tour de force!”
“…he breathes new life into folk classics with rocking arrangements and daring instrumentalization and [have] earned him a reputation for great adventurousness and a playful sense of humor… the boundaries of folk music seem to expand whenever Joe picks up the mandolin or violin and sets tradition on its ear with his wild, clever stylings.”
From Joe’s days with the David Grisman Quintet…
“With David Grisman leading the way, it would be easy to overlook any percussionist, but that’s not the case with Craven. Even when he’s providing solid rhythmic backing to Grisman’s creative soloing, you notice him. [Craven's] grooves are as steady and fluid as a rainforest waterfall and his tones are warm, rich and comforting. And just when you think you got him nailed as a percussionist, he walks out front and wrenches out a tearful solo on the violin or races for the finish line in a mandolin duet with Grisman. Then to top it off, maybe just to tease the audience a little, he’ll sing to close the show.” Joe Craven…is respected as a creative genius by those who do know his work.”
