Viktor Krauss

Viktor Krauss is an American musician who plays acoustic and electric bass. He has released solo albums and has worked as a sideman with many musicians, including his sister, singer and fiddler Alison Krauss.
Music career
Krauss was born to Fred and Louise, and raised in Champaign, Illinois. As a boy, he enjoyed listening to soundtracks. He started on piano and trumpet before moving on to playing double bass with local jazz groups in his early teens. In high school, he began composing music and was influenced by rock, soul, and R&B. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and studied bass, voice, and electronic music. While in college, he formed a band called Difficult Listening.
In 1992, he became a member of the Free Mexican Airforce led by Peter Rowan, a bluegrass guitarist and singer from Boston. After working with Rowan, he joined the band of country singer Lyle Lovett, touring and recording for the next ten years. He played on Forget About It, a solo album by his sister, Alison.
He recorded his album Far from Enough (Nonesuch, 2004) with Alison, dobro player Jerry Douglas, drummer Steve Jordan, and guitarist Bill Frisell. Alison sings a cover version of the song "Big Log" by Robert Plant. Viktor Krauss called his album a soundtrack without a movie. It combines country, bluegrass, and jazz. His second album, II (EMI/Back Porch, 2007), was also compared to a film soundtrack. Shawn Colvin sings a cover version of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" by Pink Floyd.
Krauss has worked as a session musician on albums by the Cox Family, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Bill Frisell, Jerry Douglas, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Martin Taylor, Michael McDonald, and Natalie MacMaster. He is also the composer of the indie horror game No Players Online.
Discography
Different Strokes (Fiddle Tunes, 1985)
Far from Enough (Nonesuch, 2004)
II (EMI/Back Porch, 2007)
As sideman
With Alison Krauss
1995 Now That I've Found You: A Collection
1999 Forget About It
2007 A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection
With the Cox Family
1994 I Know Who Holds Tomorrow with Alison Krauss
1993 Everybody's Reaching Out for Someone
1995 Beyond the City
1996 Just When We're Thinking It's Over
2015 Gone Like the Cotton
With Bill Frisell
1997 Nashville (Nonesuch)
1998 Gone, Just Like a Train (Nonesuch)
1999 Good Dog, Happy Man (Nonesuch)
1999 The Sweetest Punch (Decca)
2005 East/West (Nonesuch)
2007 Floratone (Blue Note)
2009 Disfarmer (Nonesuch)
With Jerry Douglas
1998 Restless on the Farm
2002 Lookout for Hope
2005 The Best Kept Secret
2012 Traveler
With Lyle Lovett
1998 Step Inside This House
1999 Live in Texas
2000 Dr. T & the Women
2003 My Baby Don't Tolerate
2003 Smile
2007 It's Not Big It's Large
2012 Release Me
2009 Natural Forces
With Beth Nielsen Chapman
2002 Deeper Still
2005 Look
2007 Prism
With Dolly Parton
1994 Heartsongs: Live from Home
2005 Those Were the Days
With Jill Sobule
1995 Jill Sobule
1997 Happy Town
With Natalie MacMaster
1999 In My Hands
2003 Blueprint
With Ron Block
2001 Faraway Land
2007 DoorWay
With Peter Rowan
1994 Tree on a Hill
2006 Crucial Country
With Jason White
2001 Shades of Gray
2003 Tonight's Top Story
With Carrie Rodriguez
2006 Seven Angels on a Bicycle
2016 Lola
With Sarah Jarosz
2011 Follow Me Down
2013 Build Me Up from Bones
With Nicole C. Mullen
2000 Nicole C. Mullen
2001 Talk About It
2008 Gift Tin
With others
1995 Departure, Michael Johnson
1995 In a Quiet Room, Dan Seals
1997 Blue Obsession, Michael McDonald
1998 Howlin' at the Moon, Sam Bush
1999 Family Tree, Darrell Scott
1999 The Crossing, Tim O'Brien
1999 The Luxury of Time, David Mead
2000 Crazy as Me, Robert Lee Castleman
2000 The Beautiful Game, Acoustic Alchemy
2002 Down the Old Plank Road, The Chieftains
2002 Hey Y'all, Elizabeth Cook
2004 Between Here and Gone, Mary Chapin Carpenter
2004 Deja Vu All Over Again, John Fogerty
2004 Just Like There's Nothin' to It, Steve Forbert
2004 Lone Starry Night, John Arthur Martinez
2004 One Moment More, Mindy Smith
2004 Passing Through, Randy Travis
2005 Say What You Feel, Paul Brady
2006 3D, Casey Driessen
2007 South of Delia, Richard Shindell
2007 When at Last, Russ Barenberg
2008 In Time, Danny O'Keefe
2009 Not Far Now, Richard Shindell
2009 The Near Demise of the High Wire Dancer, Antje Duvekot
2009 The Scorpion in the Story, Tori Sparks
2009 Time to Grow, Lovell Sisters
2011 A Natural History, J. D. Souther
2011 Anniversary Celebration, Randy Travis
2011 City of Refuge, Abigail Washburn
2011 Mesabi, Tom Russell
2011 Tennessee: The Nashville Sessions, Russell Hitchcock
2011 Until Morning/Come Out of the Dark, Tori Sparks
2011 Weights & Wings, Matt Wertz
2012 All Fall Down, Shawn Colvin
2012 Hello Cruel World, Gretchen Peters
2001 Nitelife, Martin Taylor
2011 Crazy Little Things, Lynda Carter
2013 Every Man Should Know, Harry Connick Jr.
2013 The Living Room Sessions, B. J. Thomas
2012 Amazing Grace, Kenny Rogers
2014 Sixty, John Cowan
2015 That Lovin' Feeling, Steve Tyrell
2016 Turns to Gold, Gabe Dixon
2016 Corazones (Omar Rodríguez-López album), Omar Rodríguez-López
References
External links
Official site
1969 births
Living people
American country singer-songwriters
Musicians from Champaign, Illinois
American double-bassists
Male double-bassists
Nonesuch Records artists
Guitarists from Illinois
20th-century American bass guitarists
Country musicians from Illinois
21st-century double-bassists
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians
American male singer-songwriters
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
Lyle Lovett and His Large Band members