Passages - the new instrumental bluegrass album from guitarist/composer Ethan Sherman - is equal parts chemistry and cohesion. Sherman directs traffic, giving his collaborators time and space for play, in the truest and most joyful sense. To realize the album's eight original tunes, he assembled an all-star group with Wes Corbett (banjo and producer), Thomas Cassell (mandolin), Avery Merritt (fiddle), Ethan Jodziewicz (bass), and Rob Ickes (dobro). Building on Sherman's diverse material, the band knows exactly when to lean in - as on the rollicking fiddle tune "The Glendale Gallop". They also know when to lean back - as on the emotive "Lake Aire," letting sweet melodies ring out. Altogether, Passages is a powerful, fully conceived statement from one of the brightest voices in the new-acoustic music scene.