Home » Jazz Articles » Julian Lage
Jazz Articles about Julian Lage
Who Are The Stars Today?
by Joseph Vella
The other day a friend asked me the all-important question: Who are the new “stars" in jazz today? Some names that came to mind were James Francies, Oded Tzur, and Julian Lage but would I call them “stars" of the music? Technically proficient artists? Yes. Stars? Not sure. Today, there is no shortage of gifted artists of all ilks but does anyone stand apart like Buddy, Freddie, Nina, Herbie, Grover or Eliane? And what about influential bands like ...
Continue ReadingJulian Lage: View With A Room
by Dan McClenaghan
View With A Room looks in on two generations of American guitarists; the younger generation is represented by Julian Lage, the leader of the effort, and the older generation by Bill Frisell, who sits in on seven of the ten original Lage tunes ("Echo" is co-written by Lage and the set's bassist Jorge Roeder). Following up on Lage's 2021 Blue Note Records debut, Squint (and let's give the label's boss, Don Was, a big tip of the hat ...
Continue ReadingJulian Lage: Squint
by Mario Calvitti
Dopo aver scritturato negli scorsi anni due chitarristi di indubbio valore come Nels Cline e Bill Frisell, la Blue Note mette a segno un nuovo colpo assicurandosi i servigi di un altro virtuoso della sei corde, l'ex enfant prodige Julian Lage (che in realtà era già comparso in un titolo della label al fianco proprio di Cline come membro del suo quartetto in Currents, Constellations). Questo Squint rappresenta il suo esordio da titolare per l'etichetta, alla guida di un trio ...
Continue ReadingJulian Lage: Notes With The Weight Of Words
by Leo Sidran
When Julian Lage plays guitar, it's hard not to get swept up in it. His relationship with the instrument is natural and contagious. Maybe that's because it's been with him for most of his life. When he was just 8 years old, Julian was the subject of an Academy Award nominated documentary film called Jules at Eight. Before he entered his teens, he had already performed with Carlos Santana and jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton. While still in high school he ...
Continue ReadingJulian Lage: Squint
by Chris May
Before discussing guitarist Julian Lage's album, some food for thought... A credible argument could be put forward to say that the jazz piano trio reached its pinnacle of perfection with Bill Evans' Village Vanguard performances of June 1961, with the trio of bassist Scott La Faro and drummer Paul Motian, and that trios led by guitars, another chordal instrument, have long since replaced piano led trios at the evolutionary edge of the music. Still thinking aloud, as it ...
Continue ReadingJulian Lage: Love Hurts
by Doug Collette
By the release of Modern Lore (Mack Avenue, 2018), Julian Lage had fully established his very own style of modern jazz, one arising directly from his approach to the electric guitar. Justifiably proud of what he's accomplished to date, yet not content to rest on his laurels, Lage stretches himself on Love Hurts, simultaneously freshening the appeal of his sound and offering marked contrasts to his previous works. He enlists new musicians to accompany him and chooses to work mostly ...
Continue ReadingJulian Lage: Love Hurts
by Chris Mosey
Julian Lage is a tremendously talented acoustic guitarist and by all accounts a polite, mild mannered kind of guy. Though this might not be the whole story. The cover picture of his album is of twenty used matches, which is thought to refer to his worries of becoming burnt-out after being hailed as a child prodigy then burdened with the lofty expectations of his admirers. Lage was an accomplished blues guitarist when featured in the Oscar-nominated film ...
Continue Reading
