MADS TOLLING SHORT BIO

MADS TOLLING is an internationally renowned violinist and composer originally from Copenhagen, Denmark, now living in San Francisco. As a former nine-year member of both bassist Stanley Clarke’s band and the celebrated Turtle Island Quartet, Mads won two Grammy Awards and was nominated for a third in 2015. More recently, he was a member of Bob Weir & Wolf Bros as part of the Wolf Pack. He was the 2016 winner of the DownBeat Critics Poll Rising Star Violin Award. Mads has performed with Chick Corea, Ramsey Lewis, Kenny Barron, Paquito D’Rivera, Leo Kottke, Jerry Harrison, and Sergio & Odair Assad. 

After graduating from Berklee College of Music in 2003, he was recommended by Jean-Luc Ponty to join Stanley Clarke’s band. He has since been featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, and his recordings have received rave reviews in The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Strings Magazine, and DownBeat Magazine. Mads has performed for Danish royalty – King Frederik & Queen Mary – at the celebration of the Danish Embassy’s 50th anniversary.

From 2020-2025, Mads was a member of Bob Weir & Wolf Bros as part of the Wolf Pack, touring across the US and performing at venues including Red Rocks, the Greek Theatre, and Radio City Music Hall. He is featured on Weir’s albums Live in Colorado Vols. 1 & 2, and Ace (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition). Mads contributed several arrangements of Grateful Dead tunes for the Wolf Pack and continues to perform them in projects with Grahame Lesh, Cris Jacobs, and others.

Mads has been commissioned to compose two violin concertos – for the Oakland Symphony and Pacific Chamber Orchestra. He has performed his symphonic works and appeared as a soloist with orchestras throughout the US and Japan.

Mads now leads his own groups – Mads Tolling Quartet and Mads Tolling & The Mads Men. His release, Playing the 60s, is a reimagining of classic songs from 1960s film, TV, and radio, such as “A Taste of Honey,” “Hawaii Five-O,” and “Mission: Impossible.” The album features vocalists Kenny Washington, Kalil Wilson, and Spencer Day, as well as bassist Stanley Clarke. It spent two months in the Top 30 on US jazz radio. 

Mads has performed thousands of concerts around the world, including at The Hollywood Bowl, Library of Congress, and at the Bay Area’s Paramount and Herbst Theatres. As a Yamaha Artist, Mads leads clinics and masterclasses in the US and internationally.