Grassology

Jason Keiser is a wizard in the bluegrass-jazz (or “space grass”) guitar tradition of Tony Rice and John Carlini, both formerly of the David Grisman Quintet. Keiser has, in fact, studied under many of the masters, including Carlini, Wyatt Rice and mandolin maestro Adam Steffey.

On this dazzling, all-acoustic, instrumental collection, Keiser pays tribute to his influences while showcasing his own rather extraordinary and often meditative chops on material ranging from free-wheeling covers of Tony Rice’s “Manzanita,” David Grisman’s “Opus 88” and “So It Goes” by Carlini. The title track pays homage to all three of these mentors.

Aside from the equally impressive original instrumentals, Keiser, a multi-instrumentalist with a master’s degree in jazz studies, also offers up dramatically reconfigured takes on traditional numbers like “Tennessee Waltz,” “Prayer Bells of Heaven” and “The Old Rugged Cross.”

His guitar work—again, like Rice’s before him—is little short of amazing as he switches tempos and moods and cycles through an array of esoteric and evocative chord changes and peppers his playing with harmonics. He often coaxes dueling melodies out of the bottom strings and the top strings. All in all, it’s a thrilling listen.  His take on “Manzanita” is a clear example. Rather than serve up a rote-learned tribute, he vividly stretches the song out and virtually reinvents it as a sort of sprawling meditation. Like all the other 14 selections here, it’s a pleasurable listen.