Passages

California-based guitarist Ethan Sherman has long been a leading light on the new acoustic scene and, as this all-original, all-instrumental collection attests, he’s well-versed in the progressive bluegrass idiom.

The melodies and the picking here are exquisite and largely based on improvisation. As Sherman explains in the liner notes:“I don’t view Passages as a showcase for my guitar playing: it’s all about the band. I tried to write tunes to highlight everyone’s unique voices on their instruments, and arrange them for maximum opportunity for us all to interact deeply in real time.”

Sherman’s hand-picked collaborators include:  Wes Corbett (banjo and producer), Thomas Cassell (mandolin), Avery Merritt (fiddle), Ethan Jodziewicz (bass), and Rob Ickes (Dobro). 

The band deftly weaves through a variety of moods and attitudes, from the playful to the profound. There’s the jaunty “Glendale Gallop,” the exuberant “Extra Stout,” the ethereal “Lake Aire,” the evocative “Four Days,” the playful “Cribbage in the Dark” and the enigmatic “The Architect.” Clearly, the “passages” referred to in the title and evoked by the music are both geographical and emotional.

All in all, these outstanding performances will give casual listeners a lot of pleasure and provide something for students of these respective instruments to learn from and aspire to.