The first time I heard guitarist Julian Lage, he was playing a duet with his mentor, the great Gary Burton, at the 2004 Newport Jazz Festival. Pretty good for 16. I assumed he was some European prodigy. Only later did I learn that this was the kid from “Jules at Eight,” a 1996 documentary that focused on Julian’s music studies but also shed light on the larger issue of how kids develop talent in the arts. As promising as Lage (pronounced “Lahzh”) was as a pre-teen, there are no grounds to assume that someone in his position will stick with it, start a career and emerge as a stunning virtuoso by age 21. But that’s what has happened.
The next time I heard Lage was at Birdland with Gary Burton and the young Generations band. He sounded better. But after that, when Lage played in Taylor Eigsti’s quartet at the 2006 (2007?) IAJE conference, it was clear that something had happened. His tone, facility and onstage confidence had shot through the roof. I expected good things, therefore, from Sounding Point, Lage’s debut recording. Even so, the album exceeded my expectations, as did last night’s record release showcase at Joe’s Pub.
Julian’s archtop guitar sound is distinctively warm, with a kind of semi-acoustic grain. His control of dynamics is impeccable — it’s hard to get suddenly loud on an archtop while preserving tonal purity and preventing feedback. No problem for this kid. His solos are technically jaw-dropping but also whimsical and offbeat. Most important, his music is beautiful — melodic, accessible, loosely flowing but meticulous. His band, too, is unusual: guitar, cello, sax, upright bass and an involved rig of Andean/African percussion, played with taste and gusto by Tupac Mantilla. Clearly, Lage is no guitar narcissist; he’s made brilliant use of the young musicians around him, revealing a unique chamber-jazz sensibility. Judging from the non-album tunes on last night’s set list, we have a lot more to look forward to.
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