Emarcy / Pgd
2009
Sounding Point
About This Album
Julian Lage is a member of a peer group of young modern jazz guitarists who include Lionel Loueke, Adam Rogers, Ben Monder, Lage Lund, and Joel Harrison. His open-ended acoustic-oriented sound pays homage to Ralph Towner and Jim Hall, while incorporating various European classical elements, excluding flamenco. He's at times exciting or laid-back with little middle ground, emphasizing the melodic aspects of his sound, also exploring pure improvisation on occasion. This recording showcases Lage in various solo, duo, trio, and quartet settings, with help from American pianist Taylor Eigsti, Peruvian bassist Jorge Roeder, and banjo icon Béla Fleck, with mandolinist Chris Thile, soprano saxophonist Ben Roseth, and hand percussionist Tupac Mantilla. The trio tracks with Fleck and Thile approach superhuman proportions with remarkable interplay, as they fly through the David Grisman-like "dawgrass" piece "The Informant," the playful "Alameda," and the more spatial "Long Day, Short Night." The self-explanatory trio track "Quiet, Through and Through" with Roseth and Roeder is quite different and owns a borderline ECM stance, parallel to the music of Oregon.
Track List (try tracks 4,7,8,10 and 13)

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