Career
After establishing an impressive reputation with the Kweskin Jug Band during the 1960s, Geoff and then-wife, Maria Muldaur recorded their first album, "Pottery Pie," on Warner Bros. Records in 1969. It was on this album that Geoff recorded his celebrated version of "Brazil" (original title Aquarela do Brasil) which became the title inspiration and the opening theme for Terry Gilliam's 1984 film "Brazil". After recording "Pottery Pie," the Muldaurs moved to the burgeoning folk, blues and folk-rock in Woodstock, New York. They separated in 1972, shortly after Geoff joined Paul Butterfield's Better Days group.
After leaving the Butterfield band in 1976, Geoff recorded two more solo albums for Warner Bros. Records, a duo album with guitar wizard Amos Garrett (of "Midnight at the Oasis" fame), a solo album on the Flying Fish Records label and a jump band album, "Geoff Muldaur and the Nite Lites" for Hannibal Records. During this period, Geoff also recorded with Bobby Charles, Jerry Garcia, Eric Von Schmidt, Bonnie Raitt, John Cale and others. In the early 1980s, Geoff left the stage and recording studio for a working sabbatical. During this period, he composed scores for film and television, winning an Emmy Award, and produced albums for Lenny Pickett and the Borneo Horns and the Richard Greene String Quartet.
After flying under radar for 17 years, Muldaur emerged in 1998 with a critically acclaimed album, "The Secret Handshake." After two more albums in 1999 and 2000, Geoff recorded the semiclassical, jazz album "Private Astronomy, a Vision of the Music of Bix Beiderbecke" on the Deutsche Grammophon label in 2003.
In 2009, Muldaur formed a roots super-group for work on a new album. Dubbing themselves Geoff Muldaur And The Texas Sheiks, folk and American music luminary Stephen Bruton, Grammy-winning Dobro player Cindy Cashdollar, fiddle virtuoso Suzy Thompson, guitarist Johnny Nicholas and bassist Bruce Hughes joined Muldaur in the studio for a pair of recording sessions in 2008. Bruton died in May 2009, but the music lives on in the album entitled Texas Sheiks that was released September 22, 2009, on the Tradition & Moderne label.
His sister is the actress Diana Muldaur (L.A. Law, McCloud and Star Trek: The Next Generation). His daughters, Jenni Muldaur and Clare, are also musicians.
Muldaur is the author of "Moles Moan" which has been recorded by his friend Tom Rush. This song has been used as a theme song for many folk music radio programs, most notably by Gene Shay.
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