Jason is the uncrowned prince of bluegrass — a guitarist, composer, and bandleader whose playing moves between jazz and bluegrass with the ease of someone who belongs in both. A graduate of East Tennessee State University’s Bluegrass Studies program and San Jose State’s Jazz Studies program, Jason didn’t choose between two worlds. He fused them. His recordings on OA2 and Adhyâropa Records have earned him collaborations with some of the most respected names in acoustic and jazz guitar, and his live performances — from Bay Area wine bars to IBMA’s World of Bluegrass — reflect an artist still very much in the middle of becoming something remarkable.
He came into Vintage Noise as a student and has never really left. When Jason is on the bandstand the music can go anywhere — a mellow tune suddenly finds another gear, a standard opens up in a direction nobody expected. He and Franz are the only ones who can keep up with each other when things start moving, and things always start moving when Jason is in the room. He has gone on to record and lead his own projects, and still comes back. That says everything.