Sounding Point (EmArcy Records)
Julian Lage
Released March 24, 2009
Grammy Nominee for Best ContemporaryJazz Instrumental Album 2010
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n-47iSPZ78KS_LhTNHxG42n4y0REft9-w
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/6whnaik226Wq7Dj9gfd14s?si=i-HsIUFWSzGVVO8pmErOuQ
About:
Emerging on the music scene 13 years ago, Julian Lage was quickly deemed a guitar playing prodigy. Playing a unique style that melded blues, classical, folk and jazz influences, Lage received praise from musical luminaries, including Herbie Hancock and Bela Fleck. He chose to become a sideman with established instrumentalists like Gary Burton. Now at the age of 21, Lage releases his debut album, SOUNDING POINT, on EmArcy Records, an imprint of Universal Records.
The music ranges from through-composed works and impromptu improvisations in duo and trio settings to solo excursions and a finale capped by a masterful interpretation of Miles Davis’s “All Blues.” Lage also delivers impressive covers of Elliott Smiths “Alameda” and Neil Heftis “Lil Darlin’.” the CD features special guests Eigsti, Bela Fleck and renowned mandolinist Chris Thile of Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers fame.
Track Listing:
1. Clarity (Julian Lage) 5:55
2. All Purpose Beginning (Julian Lage) 7:18
3. Familiar Posture (Julian Lage) 2:57
4. The Informant (Béla Fleck / Julian Lage / Chris Thile) 3:25
5. Peterborough (Julian Lage) 0:48
6. Long Day, Short Night (Béla Fleck / Julian Lage / Chris Thile) 5:50
7. Quiet, Through And Through (Julian Lage) 2:20
8. Lil’ Darlin’ (Neal Hefti) 5:22
9. Tour One (Taylor Eigsti / Julian Lage) 4:29
10. Alameda (Elliott Smith) 2:21
11. Constructive Rest (Julian Lage) 2:40
12. Motor Minder (Julian Lage) 6:01
13. Encore: All Blues (Miles Davis) 7:16
14. Backstory 2:26
15. Hitchcock Prelude 2:11
Personnel:
Julian Lage: guitar
Béla Fleck: banjo (4, 6, 10)
Chris Thile: mandolin (4, 6, 10)
Ben Roseth: saxophone (1, 2, 5, 7, 12)
Taylor Eigsti: piano (9, 13)
Aristides Rivas: cello (1, 2)
Jorge Roeder: bass (1, 2, 7, 8, 12)
Tupac Mantilla: hand percussion (1, 2, 8, 12)
Recorded May 11, 2008 and June 15–16, 2008, at Legacy Studios, New York City, by Richard King
Producer: Steven Epstein
Photography by Jimmy & Dena Katz
Review:
Despite
being just 21, Julian Lage has clocked up some impressive credentials. The
guitarist has worked with vibraphonist Gary Burton’s recent quintet, appearing
on Generations (Concord, 2004) and Next Generation (Concord,
2005); appeared with another jazz wunderkind, Taylor Eigsti, on the pianist’s Lucky To Be Me (Concord,
2006) and Let It Come To You (Concord, 2008); and collaborated
with progressive bluegrass mandolinist David Grisman on Dawg Duos (Acoustic Disc,
1999). As impressive as these works are, none are adequate preparation for the
maturity of his debut as a leader, Sounding Point.
With an uncanny ability to perform to perfection
in virtually any context, Lage was an ideal student for the mentoring
Burton. Sounding Point‘s opener, “Clarity,” first
appeared on Next Generation, but played here by Lage’s
unconventional core group—saxophonist Ben Roseth, cellist Aristides Rivcas,
bassist Jorge Roeder and percussionist Tupac Mantilla—it sets an expansive
stage for this collection of ten originals and three covers that defy easy categorization.
Pushing and pulling at already elastic boundaries, Lage creates a sound
undeniably of the jazz sphere, but with a modernistic and well-conceived bent
that’s all the more surprising, given his tender age.
Still,
assessing the album based on age—to say “what a terrific album for someone
so young”—diminishes its strength and significance. With a résumé even
more impressive than his recorded work to date, including Indian and classical
studies and a performing career that began in blues clubs at the age of
six, Sounding Point bears hints of the guitarist’s many
stylistic travels, yet sounds specifically like none of them. Instead, using
four musical settings—his own quintet, duets with Eigsti, a virtuosic trio with
banjoist Béla Fleck and mandolinist Chris Thile, and two solo
acoustic guitar tracks that recall Ralph Towner in spirit, if not in
style—Sounding Point is an eclectic album rife with vivid writing,
imaginative playing and a seamless blend as challenging as it is
listenable.
On electric, Lage’s most striking reference
point is Jim Hall, with a tone that
blends deep hollowbody warmth with the attack of its acoustic properties. He’s
equally creative in the way he builds his solos, his lengthy turn on the
classically informed but gently propulsive “All Purpose Beginning” is
a stunning combination of controlled abandon and sophisticated harmonic
ideation. The three trio tracks with Fleck and Thile—all collective
compositions—manage a unique collision of contemporary classicism, nuanced
Americana and bluesy jazz- centricities. With Eigsti, “Tour One”
explores the oblique, while Miles Davis’ “All Blues” demonstrates
both players’ mainstream chops.
With so many emerging artists releasing albums
before they’re ready, debuts like Sounding Point come along
all too rarely. With a fully-formed voice that transcends yet incorporates his
multifaceted stylistic interests, Lage’s impressive debut points to a giant in
the making. Most artists his age are described in terms of promise; with Sounding
Point, Lage bypasses promise and goes straight to delivery.
John Kelman (All About Jazz)
