Earth to EZRA
Now available for streaming everywhere
Purchase on Bandcamp
Ever wondered where the worlds of progressive bluegrass music and microtonal synthesis might intersect? The EZRA ensemble is game to answer the question on their adventurous second album, Earth to EZRA. Convening in an intimate studio in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, the core quartet — composer and multi-instrumentalist Jesse Jones (guitars and vocals), Jacob Jolliff (mandolin), Max Allard (banjo) and Craig Butterfield (double bass) — teamed up with musical polymath Mark Stewart and keyboardist Xak Bjerken to craft a complex recording that is by turns whimsical, uplifting, haunting and otherworldly. And you can dance to it.
More succinctly, Elizabeth Ogonek describes the project as “a wild, surreal, and totally joyful album — a ‘cycle’ to be listened to from beginning to end.” The sonic beast at the center of Earth to EZRA is a microtonal organ designed by David Rothenberg and built by synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog in the mid 1960s. The 478-key instrument divides the octave into 31 equal parts, but was never actually functional until 2023, when electronic music scholar and instrument builder Travis Johns began the meticulous process of making the organ playable.
It’s a stunning fusion that shouldn’t really make sense, but absolutely works perfectly, such is the musicianship involved.
Released September 6, 2024
Produced by Xak Bjerken and Elizabeth Ogonek
Recorded by Dave Dennison at Studio 9
in North Adams, MA on October 21-22, 2023
Mixed by Dave Sinko
Edited and mastered by Jeff Francis
Released with Cantaloupe Music
Jesse Jones - steel string, fretless, microtonal and classical guitars, vocals
Mark Stewart - xaphoon, chaladoo, daxophone, guitar, mandocello, percussion, vocals
Jacob Jolliff - mandolin and 13-tet guitar
Max Allard - 5-string banjo
Craig Butterfield - double bass
Xak Bjerken - piano, toy piano and 31-tet Rothenberg Moog organ
This recording was made possible by Cornell University’s New Frontier Grant.
Here’s a look our set-up at the beautiful recording studio, Studio 9, in North Adams, MA
“So great to hear the next generation of string wizards dive in and continue the tradition forward.
— Mike Marshall
Founded by award-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist Jesse Jones, EZRA is Jacob Jolliff (mandolin), Max Allard (banjo), Craig Butterfield (double bass), and Jones (guitar and piano). EZRA’s self-titled debut album includes nine works by Jones and was released with Adhyâropa Records.
“…an incredibly potent album with a high string wizardry quotient and lots of heart.”
“…one of our planet’s premier purveyors of progressive bluegrass.”
“New out of this world progressive string music”
— Jason Marck, Radio Z, WBEZ Chicago
“…what I can only call an acoustic supergroup.”
“…an adventurous approach to modern acoustic string music, clearly informed by bluegrass.”
— John Lawless, Bluegrass Today
“…is this one going to be in my year-end favorite jazz or roots playlist? Maybe both!”
— Gary Whitehouse, A Green Man Review
“★★★★★…nothing less than a revelation.”
EZRA is a collective of classical, jazz, rock, and bluegrass musicians focused on the creation of genre-crossing and style-inclusive new music. The ensemble consists of award-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist Jesse Jones on guitar and piano, world-renowned mandolinist Jacob Jolliff, banjo virtuoso Max Allard, and bassist extraordinaire Craig Butterfield.
With a focus on collaboration, the group has performed and recorded with musical polymath and instrument inventor Mark Stewart, composer Elizabeth Ogonek, pianist/Moog-master Xak Bjerken, and has been in residence at several universities, including Cornell, Oberlin College, University of South Carolina, UNC Chapel Hill, Appalachian State University, and East Carolina University. EZRA’s third album is scheduled for release in March 2025.
photo by Drew Baron
Press/Media inquiries: Rachel Allard, ezraquartet@gmail.com