Steve Arkin

American bluegrass and old-time banjo player. Born May 1, 1944 in New York City. Died August 24, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. Younger cousin of Alan Arkin. Arkin formed his first band in 1960, joining other jam session players who gathered in Washington Square Park, including mandolinist Jody Stecher, Frank Benedetto, and Greg Levasseur. In 1962, Arkin played with the Down State Rebels, again with Stecher, and featuring Gene Lowinger (fiddle) and Peter Szego (dobro). This combination received the backing of Bobby Darin, and wound-up playing Carnegie Hall several times. Another band with which Arkin became involved was the Hudson Tubes, with Stecher (guitar), David Grisman (mandolin), Gene Lowinger (fiddle), and Fred Weiss (bass). This band evolved into the New York Ramblers, a spin-off of which was Maria & the Washington Square Ramblers, featuring Grisman and Arkin backing up vocalist Maria Muldaur. in June 1964 Arkin filled Bill Keith's vacant banjo spot with Bill Monroe in Nashville. He stayed just two months and didn’t play on the Grand Ole Opry. Returning to New York, Arkin re-joined The New York Ramblers, this time with Grisman (mandolin), Jim Field (guitar), and Julie Silber (bass). Arkin moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and had a long career as a publishing executive. He worked for Oxford University Press, Little, Brown & Co., and AMACOM Books. In 1973 Arkin collaborated with clawhammer banjoist Peter Hoover and fiddler Lisa Ornstein. For about a year after that, Arlin worked with Richard S. Brown (mandolin), Fred Bartenstein (guitar), Margaret Gerteis (bass), and Alexandra Tottle (fiddle), among others, in Bluegrass Au Groton (subsequently renamed Mass Grass) in Massachusetts. In the early 1980s, Arkin began playing bluegrass again, spending several years with Northern Lights, a Boston progressive bluegrass or newgrass band. Following that, he became involved with old-time music with the New York-based Reel to Reel String Band, featuring fiddler Harry Bolick and guitarist Tim Pitt. In recent years, Arkin was active as a member of old-time string bands New Cut Road String Band, Long John and the Tights, and Lightning in the East, as well as playing with Lowdown Hoedowners.