Jacob Joliff Band at the UF Phillips Center

The last time I saw Jacob Jolliff play mandolin was at the Earl Scruggs festival three years ago when he was touring with Bela Fleck‘s My Bluegrass Heart group, so I was looking forward to seeing the band that he currently leads, and fortunately they were playing at the Phillips Performing Arts Center, about a mile from my house. The mandolin master began playing when he was 6 and played in his father’s bluegrass gospel group. He got a scholarship to Berklee College of Music (additional graduates include Gillian Welch, Sierra Hull, Molly Tuttle, and Bronwyn Keith-Hines). While there he joined a band for several years that toured extensively (Joy Kills Sorrow, which also included current Sam Bush banjo player Wes Corbett). He joined the progressive Yonder Mountain String Band in 2014 and played with them for five years. He currently has his own band, and they put on a masterclass in progressive bluegrass at the Phillips Center Upstage, with a few traditional songs thrown in as well. Not surprisingly, the audience included a number of excellent musicians… which is always a good sign.

Starting with a few instrumentals, they then switched gears to an original gospel song (“Holding Up the Ladder”) and then the Jonathan Edwards classic “Don’t Cry Blue.” Guitarist Ross Martin and bassist Myles Sloniker, both New York-based, were masterful and provided some top-tier solos and provided a solid background for some of the most complicated and nuanced tunes I’ve heard in a while. Much of the interaction was the trading of solos between Jolliff and New Zealand native George Jackson, one of the best fiddle players you might have never heard of.

Following up with some intricate instrumentals, they then fulfilled my request for “Outbound Plane,” one of my favorite songs by the late Nanci Griffith. Several years ago, after winning the National Mandolin Contest at Winfield, Joliff was asked to compose a long-form piece, “Art Heist Suite,” that lasted fifteen minutes and was marked by tempo changes and some of the fastest mandolin runs I’ve ever heard.

Next came the traditional “Columbus Stockade Blues” featuring some fine three part traditional bluegrass harmony. Jackson then played one of his original fiddle tunes (“Chapel Hill Deer Stalk”) which he wrote shortly after coming to the US. They closed out the night with a beautiful mandolin instrumental, “Vera.”

There aren’t many bands that play this brand of improvisational composed jazz-influenced music. The obvious comparison would be with the Punch Brothers; both bands are led by mandolin virtuosos and feature original instrumentals mixed with the occasional traditional bluegrass songs. I’d go out of my way to see either one. The Jacob Jolliff Band will provide you with a memorable evening of amazing and dynamic music that crosses genres and will leave you shaking your head at the virtuosity on display. Don’t miss a chance to see them, and they are beginning a major tour; see the schedule below.

Set list

Copper Beeches
The Devil Hath Power to Assume a Pleasing Shape
Holding Up the Ladder
Don’t Cry Blue
Blossoms Will Run Away
Large Garbage Barge
Outbound Plane
Art Heist Suite
Columbus Stockade Blues
Chapel Hill Deer Stalk
Vera

Jacob Joliff Band at the UF Phillips Center