Tony Markellis

'''Tony Markellis''' (10 September 1952 – 29 April 2021) was a bassist and record producer, born in Helena, Montana, to a Greek immigrant, Constantine Markellis, and the daughter of Greek immigrants, Victoria Carkulis, residing in Saratoga Springs, New York from 1975 until his death.<ref name="kmj">{{cite news|last=Hallenbeck|first=Brent|title=Kilimanjaro rises again|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/burlingtonfreepress/access/1754904091.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+07,+2006&author=Brent+Hallenbeck&pub=The+Burlington+Free+Press&desc=Kilimanjaro+rises+again&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104144819/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/burlingtonfreepress/access/1754904091.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+07,+2006&author=Brent+Hallenbeck&pub=The+Burlington+Free+Press&desc=Kilimanjaro+rises+again&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 4, 2012|accessdate=3 December 2010|newspaper=Burlington Free Press|date=7 June 2006}}</ref> Markellis was best known as the bass guitarist for the Trey Anastasio Band and various other groups led by Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio.

==Career== In his forty-seven year career he played blues, folk, jazz, rock, country, and bluegrass with musicians such as Trey Anastasio,<ref>{{cite book|title=Phish: The Biography|year=2009|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=978-0-306-81484-6|url=https://archive.org/details/phishbiography00pute|url-access=registration|quote=Tony Markellis.|author=Parke Puterbaugh|accessdate=3 December 2010|page=[https://archive.org/details/phishbiography00pute/page/211 211]}}</ref> Paul Butterfield, The Mamas & the Papas, Johnny Shines, David Bromberg, David Amram, Paul Siebel, Rosalie Sorrels, Eric Von Schmidt, Ellen McIlwaine, Mary McCaslin, Railbird, Jo Henley, and Floodwood. Markellis was a founding member of the groundbreaking Vermont-based jazz fusion group Kilimanjaro, as well as the Unknown Blues Band featuring Big Joe Burrell. In the late 1990s, Markellis became the first member of the first solo band of Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio, forming the rhythm section with drummer Russ Lawton.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Cohen|first=Jonathan|title=Stepping out of Phish's Shadow|magazine=Billboard|date=30 March 2002|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jRAEAAAAMBAJ&q=Tony+Markellis&pg=PA12|accessdate=3 December 2010}}</ref> Including his work with Anastasio, Markellis has appeared on over one hundred albums. In addition to tours with the Trey Anastasio Band, he was working with Kilimanjaro,<ref name=kmj/> singer/songwriters Michael Jerling and Bob Warren, Ghosts of the Forest (a Phish/TAB hybrid), Mardi Gras carnival funk band Krewe Orleans, and occasionally with Americana band Jo Henley.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tony Markellis: Mr. Bassman |last=Pilarczyk |first=Andrzej |date=18 February 2010 |publisher=Nippertown |url=http://www.nippertown.com/2010/02/18/tony-markellis-mr-bassman#more-21594 |accessdate=3 December 2010}}</ref> On June 20, 2010 (Fathers Day), Tony was invited on stage at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) to play bass with Phish on "Gotta Jibboo" (one of the songs he cowrote with Trey and Russ Lawton for the Trey Anastasio Band). Phish's bassist, Mike Gordon played the second guitar during the song.<ref>{{cite web |date=June 20, 2010 |last=McLaughlin|first=Frank|title=Jun 20, 2010 Setlist - Phish.net|url=http://phish.net/setlists/?d=2010-06-20|accessdate=12 February 2014}}</ref>

One of Markellis' final public performances was accompanying Anastasio for the majority of his "Beacon Jams" series of livestream concert series in the fall of 2020, which were held in the empty Beacon Theatre during the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name="glide"/>

==Death== Markellis died on April 29, 2021.<ref name="glide">{{cite web |title=RIP Tony Markellis: Trey Anastasio Band's original bassist and Northeast original |url=https://glidemagazine.com/256440/rip-tony-markellis-trey-anastasio-bands-original-bassist-northeast-original/ |website=glidemagazine.com |date=30 April 2021 |access-date=30 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=RIP: Tony Markellis, Bassist for Trey Anastasio Band |url=https://relix.com/news/detail/rip-tony-markellis-bassist-for-trey-anastasio-band/ |website=Relix Media |access-date=30 April 2021 |date=30 April 2021}}</ref>

== Notes == {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{Discogs artist|Tony Markellis}} * {{imdb name|id=12111163}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Markellis, Tony}} Category:2021 deaths Category:American bass guitarists Category:1952 births Category:Musicians from Helena, Montana