Rest in peace, Paul Binkley, Modern Mandolin Quartet

[Scott Tichenor]

Just received this from Matt Flinner. On behalf of the Mandolin Cafe we'd like to extend our condolences to Paul's family and friends.

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Sad news today. We lost Paul Binkley, co-founder of the Modern Mandolin Quartet as well as an excellent mandola and guitar player, arranger and all around sweet and brilliant guy. Thought you should know, and I'm sure many of your readers who have heard the MMQ over the years may want to pay their respects. Don't know if you had heard the news, but Paul had been diagnosed with lung cancer about six or seven months ago. Unfortunately, by the time they caught it it had spread to other parts of his body. He passed away at 1:50 am this morning in San Francisco.

I'm sure Dana Rath, his friend for 30 years, will have more to say about Paul's life as well as his musicianship, humor and gentle spirit. If we can get some kind of remembrance/obituary together I'll let you know.

Hope you're well---

Thanks,
Matt

[tmsweeney]

Wow, saw Paul play many times, Mike Marshall always gave him credit as the guy with the sheet music, he was a phenomenal musician and made a huge contribution to new acoustic music ,the mandolin and more importantly the mandola!
my condolences to those who were close to him, to his friends and all of us mandolin pickers.

[brunello97]

Bummer.

I didn't know Paul at all except through his recordings with MMQ and the Quartetto Amoroso disc. Always consistently interesting and intelligent music. I got some sheet music from Paul through Jim Garber, which was a nice gesture on both their parts. A small connection I know, but I always thought of the guy when playing those tunes. I'm sure I still will.

Add my condolences to his family and friends out West.

Mick

[sgarrity]

Rest in Peace Paul. You've left a legacy of beautiful music!

[Nick Royal]

Very sad news. I have always loved the MMQuartet, and heard them maybe 5-8 times. Paul was certainly a central figure in the group.

[Jim Garber]

Oh, that is so sad. I first saw him in MMQ way back in the 1980s in New York. I contacted him a fair amount over the years, exchanged sheet music and email conversations. Scott and others, please post any further information as to where we can send condolences etc.

[Dagger Gordon]

I'm sorry to hear that. I like their music very much.

[theCOOP]

Strange...I had only just heard of MMQ yesterday. Ran across their music completely by chance.

[John Goodin]

This is very sad. He was such a nice guy. Here's a story:

Back around 1989 the Louisville Mandolin Orchestra had several encounters with the original MMQ. At one point we were even working on a possible recording project. Paul, in addition to being an inspiring mandola player, was always geniunely friendly and generous with his time.

In those days the LMO rehearsed on Sunday mornings and one Sunday we were delighted by a surprise visit from the MMQ. They had played the night before in Cincinnati (about two hours away) and had come over, without warning, to rehearse some music for the proposed CD.

Mike, Paul, Dana & John were accompanied by their recently acquired matched set of Monteleone mandolins, mandola and mandocello. You can imagine our excitement as we saw them come out of their cases. I'm sure that I was drooling but Paul happily handed his new mandola (I played mandola in the LMO) to me to try out. That's the kind of guy I remember.

I wish I had known him better.

John G.

[Will Patton]

The music he was a part of was a revelation to me. MMQ - Great player, generous musician. So sorry to hear of this.

[domradave]

I saw the Modern Mandolin Quartet at McCabe's in Santa Monica in 1988. They were new but it seemed like they had been playing together for years! The great thing about McCabe's is if you hung around after the concert you could meet the band, which I did.
They were all wonderful guys! Thank you, Paul Binkley, for all of the music.

[Alan Epstein]

The early MMQ, with Paul playing mandola, was a big inspiration to me in expanding my mandolin horizons. Very sad news.

[stevenmando]

Hi I never knew him but I am always sad to hear about the passing of musicians that have played an important part in all our lives through their music and their contribution to the mandolin community , Its very important to pass on any knowledge and music to the new generation and from what I heard of him over the years , he did that , my condolences to the family and just a thank you from one of many mandolinist who heard him over the years , rest in peace Paul Binkley

[Mike Marshall]

Yes he will be very much missed. He was a sweetheart of a man. SO cool and kept our vibe exactly where it always needed to be.
The typical position of the middle voice instrument, he was the harmonic glue that held everything together.
I learned so much from him about music...arranging and the history of classical music and so much more. Thank you Paul. You've left some sweet sounds for all of us to enjoy. That MMQ was a fun ride to be on.