Tony Garnier (musician)

This page is for the musician. For the architect, see Tony Garnier.
Tony Garnier (born August 18, 1956 in Saint Paul, Minnesota) is an American bassist (both double bass and bass guitar), best known as an accompanist to Bob Dylan, with whom he has played since 1989. He is Dylan's longest-running sideman, and has sometimes been characterized as his "musical director" as well.
In addition to his work with Dylan, Garnier has recorded with Tom Waits, Loudon Wainwright III, Paul Simon, Marc Ribot, Eric Andersen and Chris O'Connell, former female singer of Asleep at the Wheel, Western swing band with whom he also played and recorded from 1976 to 1978, and The Lounge Lizards. He also played with Robert Gordon in the early 1980s. He was also a long-time sideman for David Johansen in his Buster Poindexter persona, and was also briefly a member of the Saturday Night Live house band.
His musical heritage descends from the Camelia Brass Band in New Orleans led by his grandfather, D'Jalma Garnier, (also spelled Ganier while with Camelia Brass Band), a legendary early jazz player noted on the Preservation Hall roster in the New Orleans French Quarter.[3] Garnier is one of numerous grandsons descended from D'Jalma Thomas Garnier the New Orleans bandleader, trumpet player, pianist and violinist said to have taught Louis Armstrong at the New Orleans Boys Home for Colored Waifs.[4] Tony Garnier is the younger brother of D'Jalma Garnier born 1954, the fiddler, composer, guitarist, and "pedestrian scholar" of Louisiana Creole fame. The two brothers, along with first cousin Stephen "Stevo" Théard, are the only descendants of Papa Garnier to become professional musicians in the legacy of this significant New Orleans musical family. Both of their parents were musicians working with non-profits in California.
Before joining Dylan's Never Ending Tour Band in 1989, Tony added bass tracks to films by Jim Jarmusch, most notably Down by Law filmed in Louisiana. He appeared in Bob Dylan's 2003 film Masked and Anonymous.
Garnier worked with Michelle Branch on her third studio album, Everything Comes and Goes, released in 2010.