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, a departure from his earlier work which contained a variety of pop/rock/folk influenced vocal numbers. In September 2006, he released a new album entitled How to Grow a Woman from the Ground, which consisted of an extensive bluegrass band, and more traditional tracks than his previous album.
In addition, an announcement was made on the website of Nickel Creek that Thile and his band-mates would be taking an extended hiatus from the band at the end of 2007. He is currently touring with the How to Grow a Band, consisting of members Greg Garrison on bass, Noam Pikelny on banjo, Gabe Witcher on fiddle, and Bryan Sutton on guitar. With the exception of Bryan Sutton, this is the same group of musicians that appear on How to Grow a Woman from the Ground; Chris Eldridge is the guitarist on the album. In 2007 at Carnegie Hall the original quintet from How to Grow a Woman From the Ground performed many songs off of the album and debuted a four movement suite entitled "The Blind Leaving the Blind" under the name of Tensions Mountain Boys.
From Wikipedia:Chris Thile (born February 20, 1981) is an American musician, best known as the mandolinist and a vocalist for the progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek. His current band is Punch Brothers and his most recent album is Antifogmatic. He has also recorded five albums as a solo artist, debuting with Leading Off in 1994. Chris Thile has collaborated with many artists such as Mike Marshall, Béla Fleck, Glen Phillips, and Edgar Meyer. Thile is a great-great-grandson of Baseball Hall of Famer Sam Thompson.
The three members of Nickel Creek met in Carlsbad, California at That Pizza Place in 1989, listening to weekly bluegrass shows with their parents. Soon they were taking lessons from the same instructor, playing festivals, and even recording albums. Their first, Little Cowpoke, was released in 1994. Nickel Creek has gone on to record several more albums, including their self-titled debut album and This Side, which went platinum and won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. In 2005, Nickel Creek released Why Should the Fire Die?, which received massive critical acclaim and sold 250,000 units.
Thile has released other solo albums, including the intricate Not All Who Wander Are Lost, released in 2001, and Deceiver in 2004 (in which he wrote, composed, sang, and played every part). In 2008, Thile released a collaboration album with bassist Edgar Meyer, and also plans to release a collaborative album with Hilary Hahn.