David Nichtern grew up in New York surrounded by the arts and music. His mother, Claire Nichtern, was a celebrated Broadway producer and his uncle, Irving Joseph, played piano for the likes of Tommy Dorsey, Lena Horne and Frank Sinatra. While pursuing an English major at Columbia University, Nichtern began playing electric guitar in several bands, including Voltaire's Nose, which also featured Christopher Guest (Nigel of Spinal Tap fame). Following his graduation, he pursued formal musical training at the Berklee School Of Music before returning to New York City, where he joined the burgeoning folk scene in Greenwich Village. After establishing his reputation as a fine live accompanist and inventive session guitarist, some of New York City's most gifted singers began recognizing Nichtern's songwriting abilities and began covering his songs.
In 1972, Nichtern became Maria Muldaur's guitarist and musical director, producing the demos that got her signed with Warner Brothers. Over the course of the next few years, their musical relationship would be a very fruitful one, with Nichtern playing guitar and arranging some of the tracks on her classic early albums, as well as becoming guitarist with her touring band. Nichtern's "Midnight At The Oasis" was recorded for Muldaur's debut album and to everyone's surprise, became a top ten hit, propelling the album up the charts. Following his stint with Muldaur, Nichtern relocated to the Bay Area where he became the guitarist and singer for the short-lived, but legendary Great American String Band, an acoustic all-star group that featured among others, Jerry Garcia on banjo, David Grisman on mandolin, Taj Mahal on bass and Richard Green on violin. In the decades to follow, Nichtern continued his work as an instrumentalist and became a record producer and celebrated composer for film and television. He also became the sales director of New England Digital, makers of the innovative Synclavier. He is currently a senior teacher of Buddhism, yoga and meditation at New York City's famous OM Yoga Studio.
