Blues, Jazz, Rock Violinists?

Mark O'Connor spans the musical universe from classical to country. Classically trained, IIRC and IMO, the most talented of the popular (read non-classical) violin player out there. More in the country fiddle genre, but very talented, is Alison Krauss' instrumental work.

In a thread about violinists I feel compelled to emphasize Jean-Luc Ponty, a master musician. (Grapelli is considered to be, but I haven't really heard that much, and did not care for what I heard) I love JLP's music and artistry. I've attended his concerts from LA to Detroit and seem him at least 8 times over the decades. JLP is a master violinist, writer, producer, and arranger; a genius, in my opinion.

A little youtube searching should give you a crack at some of these:

Zbigniew Seifert (releases on Mood and MPS)
Dave Arbus (1st two East of Eden records)
Faith Fraioli (Flying Island)
Darryl Way (the 3 Wolf records are great)
Hollis Brown (Ozone Quartet)
Ric Sanders (Soft Machine , Second Vision)
Jeff Gauthier (has a lot on Cryptogramophone)
Didier Lockwood (Lockwood / Vander / Top is my favorite)
Godfrey Salmon / Raymond Vincent (Esperanto/Danse Macabre)
Jenny Scheinman (lots to pick from, the Tzadik stuff is good)

If you are interested in jazz violin, then Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session is a must listen. One of Ellington's best later period efforts.

This is the first time I heard anyone mention "Billy Bang". He comes out of a lot of different bags. The first time I heard him he was into "Carlos Casteneda", who was into the sorcery of Mexican Indians, and wrote about "shamanism" and different states of mind. Billy Bang was using his writings for inspiration. It was all very interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co1D8AvUwtw&feature=related

Here is a more recent Billy Bang.