Julian Lage - "Speak To Me" / Julian Lage returns with Speak To Me, his remarkable fourth release for Blue Note, which finds the guitar virtuoso broadening his sonic palette in collaboration with esteemed producer Joe Henry who enhances Lage's trademark melodic lyricism on this wide-ranging set of compelling new originals. In addition to Lage's longtime trio with Jorge Roeder on bass and Dave King on drums, the album also features contributions from saxophonist Levon Henry, keyboardist Patrick Warren, and Kris Davis on piano. 2 LP set on 180gram vinyl Capitol Music Group; Blue Note; Jazz Artist Hometown: Santa Rosa, CA

Along with label mates Mike Moreno and Adam Rogers guitarist Lage Lund is one of the most distinctive guitarists on the current scene. His previous three Criss Cross dates have established his credentials as an up and coming talent of great promise. For his latest effort, he brings back to the fold his close associates Ben Street on bass and Bill Stewart on drums, both heard on Lund's previous sets, Foolhardy (CRC 1360) and Unlikely Stories (CRC 1321). The difference this time is that he forgoes the piano accompaniment for a bare bones trio approach that is quite refreshing and a further step forward. The mix includes a few originals and a nicely chosen selection of standards, including the iconic Bobby Hutcherson piece Isn't This My Sound Around Me.

In 2021 Criss Cross owner Jerry Teekens called to ascertain Lund's interest in making another album. For Lund, 45 when the Most Peculiar session transpired in June 2022, the offer was an opportunity to reunite with a band he launched in 2014. Pianist Sullivan Fortner (35) and drummer Tyshawn Sorey (41), both among the most gifted practitioners ever to improvise on their respective instruments, contributed their unique mojo to Lund's 2019 Criss-Cross release, Terrible Animals. Virtuoso bassist Matt Brewer (39), played on Lund's first leader date in 2006, had Lund play guitar on his own Criss Cross debut (Mythology-Criss 1373), and recently played on a Lund trio covers recital. The Album was recorded June 17, 2022 at the Samurai Hotel Recording Studio in Astoria, New York. Recording engineer Mike Marciano also did the editing, mixing and mastering at Systems Two Studio in New York. Photography by Anna Yatskevich.

2022 release. Guitarist Julian Lage discovers new possibilities with orchestration on the follow-up to his acclaimed 2021 Blue Note debut, Squintby, expanding his trio with bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King with the addition of fellow guitarist (and Blue Note labelmate) Bill Frisell. A View With A Room presents 10 compelling new original compositions by Lage that explore a wide range of guitar sounds and textures with these two distinctive masters seamlessly blending their unique 6-string styles.

Vinyl LP pressing. 2023 release. The Layers is a stunning companion piece to guitarist Julian Lage's acclaimed 2022 album View With A Room. The collection features six original pieces featuring the trio of bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King with the addition of guitar icon Bill Frisell. Intimate and gorgeous, The Layers is a welcome additional offering from this meeting of two of modern jazz's most distinctive voices with one of the music's most skilled and inventive rhythm sections.

Julian Lage - "Speak To Me" / Julian Lage returns with Speak To Me, his remarkable fourth release for Blue Note, which finds the guitar virtuoso broadening his sonic palette in collaboration with esteemed producer Joe Henry who enhances Lage's trademark melodic lyricism on this wide-ranging set of compelling new originals. In addition to Lage's longtime trio with Jorge Roeder on bass and Dave King on drums, the album also features contributions from saxophonist Levon Henry, keyboardist Patrick Warren, and Kris Davis on piano. CD Softpak. Capitol Music Group; Blue Note; Jazz

Modern Lore finds Julian Lage playfully flipping the script he followed on his acclaimed 2016 Mack Avenue debut, Arclight. That album - produced, like Modern Lore, by Lage's friend and collaborator, the singer-songwriter Jesse Harris - was his first trio set on electric guitar and found Lage inspired by the sounds and the attitude of the freewheeling, pre-bebop jazz era, when, as he puts it, "country music and jazz and swing were in this weird wild-west period." This time he incorporates the sensibility, if not the outright sound, of early rock and roll, a similarly hybrid form driven by rhythm, personality and a passion for the electric guitar.