Love Hurts (Mack Avenue)
Julian Lage
Released February 22, 2019
AllMusic Favorite Jazz Albums 2019
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Hailed as one of the most prodigious guitarists of his generation, Julian Lage has spent more than a decade searching through the myriad strains of American musical history via impeccable technique, free association and a spirit of infinite possibility. Love Hurts – which marks Lage’s third Mack Avenue LP recorded with a trio, and his first to feature bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King (The Bad Plus) – sees the GRAMMY® nominated guitarist exploring the American song catalog from a truly unique vantage point, performing music written by a range of audacious and original artists, from Roy Orbison to Ornette Coleman, Jimmy Giuffre to Peter Ivers. Lage and his rhythm section build upon the wandering sonic outlook of his previous LPs, further impelling his defining amalgam of jazz fusion, jam band liberation, standards, and embryonic rock ‘n’ roll with virtuosic precision, adventurous improvisation, and a remarkably clear vision.
Article on Guitar World:
Although he’s just 31, Julian Lage’s career has spanned more than two decades and has seen the virtuosic guitarist perform with artists ranging from Carlos Santana (when he was only 9) to Doc Watson to David Grisman. He’s also recorded with Wilco’s Nels Cline and the Punch Brothers’ Chris Eldridge and released albums in duo, trio, quartet and quintet configurations, as well as in solo acoustic format. And — to round things off — Lage is a current Guitar World columnist.
His newest record, Love Hurts, finds Lage leading a trio rounded out by bassist Jorge Roeder and Bad Plus drummer Dave King, and, characteristic of his ever-curious musical mind, tackling an idiosyncratic collection of songs that, in addition to several originals, includes Roy Orbison’s “Crying,” Keith Jarrett’s “The Windup,” Ornette Coleman’s “Tomorrow Is the Question” and the Boudleaux Bryant title track, made famous by the Everly Brothers and, later, in power-ballad form, by Seventies rockers Nazareth.
As for the connection between this seemingly disparate lineup of tunes? On a basic level, says Lage, “the whole idea was to do songs I love.” But there’s also a deeper link: “These are all pieces that were written by American composers, and typically in the last 50 or 60 years,” he continues. “They’re shorter-form songs and they’re all songs that, to me, pack a certain emotional punch. Some are kind of heartbreaking in a more somber way, like ‘Crying,’ and some are more poignant, but also very uplifting, which is Keith Jarrett’s language. I think of it as ‘heartbreakingly beautiful.’”
Another detail that links the music on Love Hurts is that it all was cut live in the studio, and more or less captured in one or two takes. Lage tracked the album at The Loft, Wilco’s facility in Chicago, and the entire project was recorded and mixed in three days. The point was to “capture the early stages,” he says.
“The thought was, ‘Go somewhere where we don’t bring our own equipment and we just kind of submit to however they make records,” Lage says. “And The Loft isn’t a traditional recording studio. There’s not a lot of isolation, there’s not a separate control room. It’s just kind of an unorthodox space that they figured out how to use really effectively. So we showed up, the guitars and amps were all set up when we walked in and we did the record basically on the first day.”
When it came to those guitars and amps, Lage wound up using gear that belonged to Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy. “I have a ’54 Tele that I love and that has been my main guitar for a couple of years,” Lage says. “But when we started tracking it seemed like these songs needed something a little darker, a little more visceral. So I ended up playing one of Jeff’s old Gretsches, I believe it was a ’56 Duo Jet, and I ran that through an old Gibson BR-6 amplifier. And the sound was so compressed and so beautiful. It was nice to kind of forego my usual strategies. It was pretty liberating.”
Despite the change in approach on Love Hurts, Lage says there’s a clear line that runs through all his work. “I have a vision that is deliberate, and that is to make records that challenge me,” he says. Furthermore, his music continues to explore and reflect his fascination with the instrumental form in general.
“Instrumental music conveys such emotion, and on such a deep and abstract level,” Lage says. “I think I appreciate that more and more as time goes on. I said to someone the other day, it’s kind of like reductionism — you have these emotional gestures that people don’t have the words for, and if you reduce that to the energy of instrumental music, you can then find all these unorthodox ways of communicating those emotions. To me, that’s such a beautiful thing.”
Richard Bienstock, published July 31, 2019 (Guitar World)
Track Listing:
1. In Heaven (Peter Ivers / David K Lyncb) 04:34
2. Tomorrow Is the Question (Ornette Coleman) 03:36
Julian Lage (soloist) Grammy Nominee for Best Improvised Jazz Solo 2020
3. The Windup (Keith Jarrett) 04:03
4. Love Hurts (Boudleaux Bryant) 04:45
5. In Circles (Julian Lage) 04:30
6. Encore (A) (Keith Jarrett) 04:44
7. Lullaby (Julian Lage) 03:45
8. Trudgin’ (Jimmy Giuffre) 03:57
9. I’m Getting Sentimental Over You (George Bassman / Ned Washington) 04:06
10. Crying (Joe Melson / Roy Orbison) 05:34
Personnel:
Julian Lage: guitar
Jorge Roeder: bass
David King: drums
Recorded September 2-3, 2018, at The Loft – Chicago, IL, by Tom Schick, assisted by Mark Greenberg
Mixed by Tom Schick
Mastered by Gavin Lurssen
Cover: Plainpicture/Miguel Sobreira
Art Direction + Design: Jeri Heiden & Nick Steinhardt
Produced by Julian Lage
Executive-Producer: Gretchen Valade
Review:
Love Hurts marks guitarist Julian Lage’s third trio date for Mack Avenue. The previous two, Arclight (2016) and Modern Lore (2018), were with bassist Scott Colley and drummer/vibraphonist Kenny Wollesen. The Love Hurts sessions were inspired by some live dates where Lage and bassist Jorge Roeder (who worked with Lage on 2009’s Sounding Point) were joined by Bad Plus drummer Dave King. The trio recorded at the Loft (Wilco’s recording studio in Chicago). Lage set down his trademark Telecaster for this date and picked up Jeff Tweedy’s Gretsch Duo Jet instead. Cut live from the floor in mostly first takes, these ten tracks — produced by Lage — were completed in a day and a half.
The program is exclusively made up of covers ranging from rock to jazz and country, all completely rearranged by Lage. Set opener “In Heaven,” is a shadowy ballad penned by Peter Scott Ivers. Lage slowly and purposefully articulates the melody one ringing note at a time while Roeder engages in swirling arco pulses before King shuffles in and shifts the tune toward a slow blues. Next is a fleeting, intensely fast read of Ornette Coleman’s “Tomorrow Is the Question,” also begun as a duet between the guitarist and drummer in near bop cadence before Roeder adds his quick walking bass line and it begins to swing. It’s followed by a storming, wildly imaginative version of “The Windup” — the first of two Keith Jarrett tunes included. Lage draws connections between Jarrett’s music and combines it with vintage-sounding country and rockabilly. (One can hear traces of Pat Metheny and Danny Gatton alongside Lage’s trademark phrasing.) Later the trio takes on Jarrett’s “Encore A,” commencing with King’s solo funky drum breaks. The flow between ringing, slightly distorted guitar, a slippery, bumping bass line, and rock and funk drum grooves is infectious. “Lullabye,” is one of two originals included; it’s a lilting, atmospheric Americana-esque track with gorgeous bass and drum interplay. Jimmy Giuffre’s classic “Trudgin” is given an unusual arrangement that commences as noirish, rootsy blues and moves into dramatic, spiky dissonance and ringing, spacy psychedelia. The title track is a reverent yet emotionally redolent reading of the Boudleaux Bryant number covered by everyone from the Everly Brothers, Gram Parsons, and Scottish hard rockers Nazareth. Lage plays each lyric note attentively, as if he is listening for something hidden. His solo is also built on the theme and articulates it with multi-stringed voicings and open strings. The guitar break in his own “Circles” is where he dazzles listeners with his string-wrangling dexterity and improv chops. He offers a playful, multi-hued version of the standard “I’m Getting Sentimental over You” followed by Roy Orbison’s “Crying,” delivered with the sensitivity of a singer; he expands the tune’s dynamic frame by engaging pop, squalling guitar rock, country, and jazz with an illuminating and playful creativity. Of all the records in Lage’s catalog, Love Hurts sounds like it was the most fun to make; in turn, it is a complete delight for listeners.
Thom Jurek (AllMusic)
