Chris Thile is a renowned mandolin player and a founding member of the progressive bluegrass trio Nickel Creek with Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins. Thile began recording his first solo album in 1993, with most songs of his own composition. After two more solo albums of all original material, he teamed with mandolin master Mike Marshall for a stunning album of duets called Into the Cauldron, which included forays into jazz, world music, and Bach. In 2004 Chris released Deceiver