Some forty years ago, the New Acoustic Music scene grew out of a collision of rock and jazz influence with the acoustic instrumentation of bluegrass. While the traditionalists often did not look kindly upon the genre stretching, the music that arose back in the 1980s has become pretty much mainstream on the acoustic scene, with stylistically eclectic and instrumentally virtuosic music co-existing with the traditional-style pickers. Successive generations of players have broadened even more the palette of influences that these acoustic musicians bring to the scene. This week, we have a new recording by a group who brings an academic background in orchestral composition to the table, as well as a high level musicianship to create what I suppose could be called art rock on acoustic instruments, with complicated compositions featuring tricky rhythms, and somewhat unconventional harmonic structure to their instrumental music. The quartet call themselves Ezra, and their new third album is called Froggy’s Demise.

Ezra was formed by Jesse Jones, who plays guitars and makes his own instruments, and whose day job is Associate Professor of Composition at the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio, where he met bassist Craig Butterfield, who now teaches at the University of South Carolina. Banjo player Max Allard was a full-time student at Oberlin, graduating this spring. Mandolinist Jacob Joliff, met Jones at a young age at a bluegrass festival, and they have been friends and collaborators since then. Joliff now tours with Béla Fleck and others and has his own band. While the members are separated by the miles and their individual careers, they manage to get together periodically and prolifically when they can. This is their third album in a little over a year. Their regime is to exchange files beforehand, then do an intensive week of rehearsals before going into the studio, in this case in South Carolina.

While Jesse Jones is still the main composer on the album, there are contributions from all the others, more so than on their debut release, so the album is perhaps even more stylistically diverse. The material ranges from melodic and melancholy to rather esoteric. It’s all done in the acoustic quartet format with guitar, banjo, mandolin and bass. Bass player Butterfield often takes the lead playing with his bow

The liner notes to the physical CD provide helpful insights to the inspiration for the various tunes.

Opening is a piece by banjo man Allard called Waldeinsamkeit which he says translates as “a sublime feeling of being alone in the woods by oneself.” It has that kind of introspective quality, through the piece is not without its musical complications. <<>>

The title track, Froggy’s Demise by Jones is kind of classic New Acoustic in its use of the bluegrass instrumentation to go to some untraditional places, with rhythmic and harmonic shifts, and not the kind of thing a traditional bluegrass group would be playing. <<>>

Guitarist Jones and bassist Butterfield composed the piece called McLaughlin named after fusion guitarist John McLaughlin and his acoustic project with the group Shakti. It has the kind of virtuosic fast playing that McLaughlin is known for, with the lead going back and forth among the various instruments in the band, including Butterfield’s bass. <<>>

More sedate is a piece by Jones called Maya dedicated to a fan by that name. <<>>

A composition called Narny by Jones, named after nickname for his father, shows Celtic influence, but in typical fashion for the band, features a tricky rhythm with skipped beats <<>> before going into an attractive bluegrass section. <<>>

Speaking of unconventional rhythms, Sobreandando, a piece by banjoist Max Allard is vaguely influenced by Latin American music, but with a 3+2+3 structure. <<>>

Perhaps the most abstruse piece on album is called Basically a Blues which is constructed on a 12-bar blues sequence, but composer Jones took the chords and turned them upside down for some odd harmonic textures. I think it’s one instance there the band does get carried away with its compositional experimentation. <<>>

Jesse Jones switches to banjo for a contemplative-sounding track called Golden Hill performed in a duo with bassist Butterfield. <<>>

The album ends with Hannigan’s Hollow which Jones writes is one of the first pieces he wrote over 20 years ago after learning the mandolin. All four members get a chance to show their stuff on the track, which, while it maintains the basic theme, goes in various directions in tempo and arrangements. <<>>

Froggy’s Demise the new third album by the acoustic quartet Ezra, and the third in a little over a year, shows the group in full flower, with their impressive musicianship and rather intricate compositions. In fact, this album get a bit esoteric at times musically, sometimes trading melodicism for experimentation. Its an album that is probably best for the New Acoustic cognoscenti, but it’s an album that will reward the attention you give it. It’s always interesting, but is less than exactly hummable.

Out grade for audio quality is an “A” for a clean, warm unfettered acoustic sound, that delivers the performances as they were played, with exception of a bit of overdubbing.

Using instruments that have been around for hundreds of years, and the influence of bluegrass which has been around for three quarters of a century, successive generations of acoustic players continue to expand the possibilities offered by the music. Froggy’s Demise by Ezra is a great example.

(c) Copyright 2025 George D. Graham. All rights reserved.
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<<>> indicates audio excerpt played in produced radio review

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