Julian Lage - Speak To Me

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2024
Time: 59:54
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 138,8 MB
Art: Front

(2:22) 1. Hymnal
(6:05) 2. Northern Shuffle
(3:26) 3. Omission
(5:20) 4. Serenade
(6:00) 5. Myself Around You
(5:14) 6. South Mountain
(4:15) 7. Speak To Me
(4:19) 8. Two And One
(4:26) 9. Vanishing Points
(4:25) 10. Tiburon
(5:07) 11. As It Were
(4:36) 12. 76
(4:14) 13. Nothing Happens Here

Julian Lage is a surprising composer and guitarist. In the opening of this album, one seamlessly transitions from intentions inspired by flamenco to a jazz-infused blues, with delightful touches of humor along the way. Invariably, over the past few years, the Blue Note label seems to be giving wings to its artists, to the extent that journalists and radio programmers, much like with albums from Mack Avenue, delight even before discovering the cover of a new album.

That was the case here, a simple black and white portrait of Julian Lage, giving no hint of the content within. Clearly, Julian Lage is devoted to telling us stories through his music; it’s a music of tales, dialogue, perhaps even of novels. The guitarist states: “Throughout my life, I’ve always been drawn to music that has a narrative quality,” explaining that he sees his recent compositions as less of a departure and more of an extension of the originals from previous albums, notably his first album, “Squint,” on Blue Note in 2021. “I believe there’s a sort of connective tissue that music has, and that’s important, and it’s fun to cultivate.”

The musical language on this album speaks so directly to the listener that one could have named it “Speak to You,” as each person will find a bit of their musical universe within it, those cultural elements that shape an individual throughout their life. “Speak To Me” showcases the guitarist and composer in various contexts, including solo acoustic, duos, with his usual trio consisting of bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King, and a larger ensemble with keyboards (by Kris Davis and Patrick Warren) and woodwinds (Levon Henry).

This is Lage’s fourth effort for Blue Note and is part of a torrent of creative activity that includes his participation in Charles Lloyd’s Trio of Trios project and recordings with Terri Lynn Carrington, John Zorn, and Cautious Clay. From start to finish, we are plunged into highly diverse musical worlds on this album, some even occasionally reminiscent of cinematic soundtracks, whether intentional or not, the effect is guaranteed, and at no moment can this album be found dull. Between amusing passages, sometimes poetic, sometimes dramatic, sometimes joyful, it’s even difficult to say if this album leans towards a particular audience, because as I mentioned, this album speaks to everyone.

“Speak To Me” was recorded quickly, over a few days. Instead of pre-production, Lage and Henry maintained a constant electronic flow of discussion on tone, temperament, and mission for months before the sessions. When Lage was frustrated that a song he had written didn’t fit with the others, he would send a demo to Joe. “I would tell him, ‘I’m about to toss this one. Does it fit into the narrative we’re trying to create with the other pieces?’ Several times, I told him I didn’t think a song was appropriate. And he would tell me it was he saved a few songs that way.”

This is probably what makes this album as rich as it is exciting, immediately becoming indispensable from the first notes, and we are certainly here on Julian Lage’s best album, one of sincerity.Julian Lage – Speak to Me (ENG review) - Paris Move (paris-move.com)

Personnel: Julian Lage guitar; Levon Henry tenor saxophone; Patrick Warren keyboards; Kris Davis piano; Jorge Roeder bass; Dave King drums

Speak To Me

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Julian Lage - The Layers

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 24:54
Size: 57,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:12) 1. Everything Helps
(3:02) 2. Double Southpaw
(5:34) 3. Missing Voices
(4:19) 4. This World
(4:01) 5. Mantra
(3:43) 6. The Layers

The layers here come from the wonderful interplay between the guitar of Julian Lage and his trio members Jorge Roeder on bass and Dave King on drums both musicians who lay back nicely, and find a way to resonate with those trademark chromatic notes that Lage seems to spin out effortlessly! The album's billed as a precursor to the previous View With A Room album looser and more exploratory than that one, but also pretty darn great on its own. Titles include "The Layers", "Mantra", "Everything Helps", "This World", "Missing Voices", and "Double Southpaw". © 1996-2023, Dusty Groove, Inc.https://www.dustygroove.com/item/137651/Julian-Lage:Layers

Personnel: Electric Guitar – Julian Lage, Bill Frisell; Acoustic Bass – Jorge Roeder; Drums – Dave King

The Layers

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Julian Lage - View With A Room

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:16
Size: 99,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:47) 1. Tributary
(3:15) 2. Word For Word
(4:28) 3. Auditorium
(3:31) 4. Heart Is A Drum
(4:52) 5. Echo
(4:19) 6. Chavez
(3:58) 7. Temple Steps
(3:57) 8. Castle Park
(5:10) 9. Let Every Room Sing
(3:55) 10. Fairbanks

View With A Room looks in on two generations of American guitarists; the younger generation is represented by Julian Lage, the leader of the effort, and the older generation by Bill Frisell, who sits in on seven of the ten original Lage tunes ("Echo" is co-written by Lage and the set's bassist Jorge Roeder).

Following up on Lage's 2021 Blue Note Records debut, Squint (and let's give the label's boss, Don Was, a big tip of the hat for bringing the label back into the forefront of modern jazz), Lage again employs his blue ribbon trio mates, drummer Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King, along with his front line cohort and guitar partner, Frisell. The two guitarists share a complete lack of pretense in their approach to music, making excellent, rock- solid, stripped-down guitar atmospherics with a light but deft hand on the production side tunes which could fit into a playlist with the classic old and new guitar hits. The old: Dick Dale and the Del-Tones, Link Wray, the Chantays.

The new: Pat Metheny, Mary Halvorson and (of course) Bill Frisell, the finest of American jazz guitarists (and O. K, vote for Pat Metheny if you want to; an argument can be made), This is two masters of the six strings sitting down without overplanning (or so it sounds), in the Lage's garage actually not, though it has that relaxed atmosphere, the ease and fluidity of expression playing guitar tunes as engaging a 1963's "Pipeline" by the Chantays, or Link Wray's "Rumble" from 1958.

Drummer King and bassist Roeder are mostly understated, serving this intricate, plain-spoken music well, on a set which has a subdued mood from start to finish. The album features a definite American feeling, authentically so, twanging at times, picking out sharp, succinct, delicate points of light at others, with the pair of guitars painting lush, beautiful harmonies. It has the feel of a sophisticated and virtuosic cowboy band.

At this point in his career, Frisell has nothing to prove. Then he sits down and proves his expansive talent anyway. Lage, more than three decades Frisell's junior, does have things to prove, and he continues to go about that task with unwavering success on View With A Room.By Dan McClenaghan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/view-with-a-room-julian-lage-blue-note-records

Personnel: Julian Lage: guitar, electric; Bill Frisell: guitar, electric; Jorge Roeder: bass, acoustic; Dave King: drums.

View With A Room

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Charles Lloyd - Trios: Sacred Thread

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:56
Size: 89,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:19) 1. Desolation Sound
(4:13) 2. Guman
(9:23) 3. Nachekita's Lament
(1:54) 4. Saraswati
(7:51) 5. Kuti
(8:48) 6. Tales of Rumi
(3:25) 7. The Blessing

This is the third and final album in Blue Note's Charles Lloyd-dedicated ‘Trio of Trios’ series, with the orchestrally-resourceful guitarist Julian Lage joining mindbendingly multi-tasking percussion legend Zakir Hussain in conversation with the 84 year-old US reeds maestro.

Sacred Thread represents the Trio series' most radical departure from the freeboppish or bluesily grooving soundscapes of its predecessors Chapel, and Ocean a more open global-musical trip, as well as an homage to Lloyd's decades-long devotion to the spirituality of the East. Mutual empathy is plain from the opening ‘Desolation Sound’, with its deep-hooting tenor ballad statement punctuated by the leader's characteristically fast-wriggling fills spinning off dolorous long tones.

Hussain's reverentially tender singing is shadowed by Lage's chord chimes on ‘Guman’, 'Nachekita's Lament' is a meditation for billowing flute tones, slow chanting and brooding guitar rejoinders that becomes a catchy tabla-driven canter. Lloyd plays the mournful soprano sax-like tárogató on ‘Saraswati’ (mostly with only gentle gong-sounds fitful tabla-rhythm flickers for company), Hussain's voice and Lloyd's vaporous flute share the initially ballad-like ‘Kuti’ before a groove much more suggestive of the hi-life star of the title emerges to draw a boldly skidding break from Lage. ‘Tales of Rumi’ invites an enthralling Hussain long intro of racing rhythms and whoopy voicelike accents before it becomes a tenor-led folk dance, and a quietly impassioned Lloyd-Lage dialogue on ‘The Blessing’ wraps up a real gem, even by the octogenarian California jazz guru's standards.
By John Fordham https://www.jazzwise.com/review/charles-lloyd-trios-sacred-thread

Personnel: Charles Lloyd (ts, fl); Julian Lage (g); Zakir Hussain (perc)

Trios: Sacred Thread

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Julian Lage - Squint

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2021
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:37
Size: 104,8 MB
Art: Front

(2:27) 1. Etude
(3:25) 2. Boo's Blues
(4:30) 3. Squint
(4:35) 4. Saint Rose
(5:28) 5. Emily
(3:59) 6. Familiar Flower
(3:15) 7. Day and Age
(6:53) 8. Quiet Like a Fuse
(3:31) 9. Short Form
(4:18) 10. Twilight Surfer
(3:12) 11. Call of the Canyon

Before discussing guitarist Julian Lage's album, some food for thought... A credible argument could be put forward to say that the jazz piano trio reached its pinnacle of perfection with Bill Evans' Village Vanguard performances of June 1961, with the trio of bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian, and that trios led by guitars, another chordal instrument, have long since replaced piano led trios at the evolutionary edge of the music.

Still thinking aloud, as it were, the acoustic piano might also be said to be increasingly anachronistic across jazz, its place taken in many young bands by an electric keyboard, or a guitar, or by no chordal instrument at all. On the other hand, the explanation for that could simply be cyclical. In any event, no denigration of acoustic pianists is intended. It is indisputable, however, that jazz guitar trios continue to push the boundaries of the music or, as in the case of Lage's Blue Note debut, Squint, bring a fresh spin to the lyric territory in which Bill Evans excelled.

All but two of the eleven tracks on Squint are Lage originals and they range from blues rock to exquisitely beautiful ballads. Predictably, Blue Note is pushing the first strand, which, enjoyable as it is, forms the smaller proportion of the album. The only YouTube clip available at the time of writing is "Boo's Blues," and the album's first single is "Saint Rose." Both tunes are radio-friendly drive-time chuggers. Among the ballads, a highlight is undoubtedly the cover of Johnny Mandel's "Emily," but Lage's "Day And Age" and "Quiet Like A Flower" are every bit as gorgeous. The guitarist's playing on all three tracks is as harmonically elevated as Bill Evans was on, say, "My Foolish Heart" and "Waltz For Debby" at the Vanguard (or indeed on the versions of "My Funny Valentine" and "Romain" he recorded in a duo with guitarist Jim Hall in 1962 for the United Artists album Undercurrent).

Lage excels throughout Squint as both an improviser and a composer, and he is well served by bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King, both of whom had toured with him for two years before the pandemic delayed the completion of recording. From every angle, and from start to finish, the album is a delight. By Chris May
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/squint-julian-lage-blue-note-records

Personnel: Julian Lage: guitar, electric; Jorge Roeder: bass, acoustic; Dave King: drums.

Squint

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Julian Lage - Modern Lore

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:32
Size: 97.4 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 2018
Art: Front

[3:56] 1. The Ramble
[3:51] 2. Atlantic Limited
[5:26] 3. General Thunder
[4:09] 4. Roger The Dodger
[3:59] 5. Wordsmith
[3:54] 6. Splendor Riot
[3:30] 7. Revelry
[3:00] 8. Look Book
[4:09] 9. Whatever You Say, Henry
[2:16] 10. Earth Science
[4:17] 11. Pantheon

Julian Lage: guitars; Scott Colley: bass; Kenny Wollesen: drums, vibraphone; Tyler Chester: keyboards; Jesse Harris: maracas, casio, acoustic guitar.

As a young guitar prodigy, Julian Lage often went to gigs at the Bay Area jazz club Yoshi's. There he would sit up front, put his head on stage and watch admiringly. Backing his early heroes at Yoshi's were two musicians who now form a trio with Lage. Double bassist Scott Colley and drummer Kenny Wollesen performed on Lage's 2016 album Arclight (Mack Avenue Records) to wide acclaim. The threesome reunites here for Modern Lore, with Lage's friend and collaborator Jesse Harris involved again. Nowadays it's others who lean close to the stage and gaze enrapt at Lage. Collusions with the likes of Chris Eldridge and Nels Cline have seen him mixing bluegrass, pop and jazz, with a hint of classical, even avant-garde. But whereas Arclight found Lage delving into early twentieth century tunes, Modern Lore seeks out the very foundations of rock music and digs deep. The acoustic guitar having been his early tool of choice, Lage indulges a love of the Telecaster here, like he did on Arclight. The sound has an unfussy clarity, as if Lage is playing your living room with his Fender and a home-made amp. The work of Chicago-based Bill MacKay often comes to mind when Lage finds a similar purity of melody. The two also share a style of lucid strumming, where each crotchet or quaver really counts for something.

So to the album's title, Modern Lore. This more than hints at the present-day mixing with a sense of learning. Opening cut "The Ramble" bears this out, when a strutting bass intro and rattling rhythm sticks give way to Lage in B.B. King mode. Catchy bluesy chords lead to a pinging solo, with notes so sparkling they might be freshly dew-dropped. You also get a hint of fuzzed-up Jimmy Page and John Abercrombie's pure picking. Retro this is not, refined it certainly is. Julian Lage is the ultimate jazz curator, with history in his fingertips. He conjures bygone eras, shakes off their dust, then hands you them anew. Each cut brings something new to the party. "Roger The Dodger" mixes funky chords and refined solos, "Wordsmith" rumbles into true rock 'n' roll and "Revelry" is like the air of a folk ballad. More revelations come on "Earth Science" when Lage seems to drill his fretboard into your very core with metallic rigour.

Tagging this collection as some kind of 'jazz-rock' outing would be simplistic and gruff. For sure it moves Lage into new arenas, but when did he ever remain static? Modern Lore is a perfect paean to the electric guitar and all its sensual traditions. ~Gareth Thompson

Modern Lore mc
Modern Lore zippy

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Taylor Eigsti - Daylight at Midnight

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:03
Size: 128,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:56)  1. Daylight
(6:39)  2. Magnolia
(4:56)  3. The Art Teacher
(5:31)  4. The Water
(3:28)  5. Pink Moon
(4:18)  6. Little Bird
(3:03)  7. Secreto
(4:41)  8. Chaos
(4:00)  9. Between the Bars
(7:36) 10. Speaking Song
(5:50) 11. Midnight After Noon

It's official: pianist Taylor Eigsti has finally outgrown his "prodigy" label.  At 26, with two Concord CDs and numerous sideman recordings behind him, Eigsti has finally made the artistic statement he's intended since his career began at the age of 11. Raised on the American songbook, and indoctrinated early into concerns about the continued viability of jazz, Eigsti has always wanted to create new audiences by embracing the favorite material of the iPod generation. In his previous CDs he has covered Hacke Bjorksten and The Gels, as well as recording his own "Fallback Plan Suite," in three movements, on Let it Come to You (Concord, 2008). With Daylight at Midnight, Eigsti goes even further, not only interpreting contemporary artists like Coldplay, Rufus Wainwright, MuteMath and Imogen Heap, but featuring a vocalist for the first time: the transcendentally pure and soulful Becca Stevens, with whom he wrote two of the songs. He also plays with the instrumentation adding Fender Rhodes, Rhodes PianoBass, electric piano and Melliotron samples and mixes the terrific trio tracks (with bassist Harash Rhagavan and drummer Eric Harland) with a duo featuring long-time colleague and friend, the wonderful guitarist Julian Lage. Eigsti's powerful technique always informs his playing, but on this recording the spotlight is on his musical range. Especially notable is the one solo track ("Secreto"), which is simple and elegant, yet deeply moving a difficult combination for players of any age. For the rest, however unfamiliar Eigsti's selections may be to a jazz audience, his love for melody and his deep and expanding artistry are always evident. The side effect of introducing jazz to a younger audience is to introduce the, well, more mature audience to the newer material. It works so beautifully both ways that Daylight at Midnight may finally make Taylor Eigsti as widely-known as he deserves to be, as consummate player, composer, and now songwriter and ambassador as well. ~ Dr Judith Schlesinger https://www.allaboutjazz.com/daylight-at-midnight-taylor-eigsti-concord-music-group-review-by-dr-judith-schlesinger.php

Personnel: Taylor Eigsti: piano, rhythm piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer electric piano, Melliotron samples; Harish Raghavan: acoustic and electric bass; Eric Harland: drums; Julian Lage: guitars; Becca Stevens: vocals.

Daylight at Midnight

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Frank Vignola & Vinny Raniolo - Swing Zing

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:24
Size: 123,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:08)  1. Cheek to Cheek
(2:22)  2. The Best Things in Life Are Free
(3:47)  3. September Song
(3:53)  4. Cry Me a River
(4:22)  5. Joseph Joseph
(2:05)  6. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
(4:30)  7. All the Things You Are
(3:59)  8. Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans
(4:34)  9. Whispering
(3:56) 10. Sleepytime Gal
(3:01) 11. Stardust
(4:35) 12. Tico Tico / Djangomania
(5:06) 13. Peg O My Heart / I'm Confessin'

When a press release accompanying a new album conveys more information than is found on the album itself, the supposition must be that it was recorded hurriedly with an eye toward a similarly expeditious release. Swing Zing! pairs the estimable guitarists Frank Vignola and Vinny Raniolo, who've been working together for more than five years, with half a dozen guests who are identified on the album (and in the press release) by name but not by instrument. Three of them Bucky Pizzarelli, Julian Lage and Gene Bertoncini are definitely guitarists. At least one of the others Olli Soikkeli, Audra Mariel, Gary Mazzaroppi must be a bassist, or doubles on it, as a bass seems to be present on several tracks. On the other hand, it could be a bass guitar or even a regular guitar played as a deep-throated rhythm instrument, a la Freddie Green. Sure sounds like a bass, though.

It's clear that Mariel is a vocalist, as she sings (quite well) on the Jerome Kern standard "All the Things You Are." As Mazzaroppi is also listed on that track, perhaps he's the mystery bassist (there's a photo inside the album cover of someone playing bass but he isn't identified by name). The problem is, Mazzaroppi's not noted as present on the other numbers that seem to include a bass including the upbeat opener, Irving Berlin's "Cheek to Cheek." Soikkeli sits in on "Joseph Joseph," Bertoncini on "Whispering," Lage on "Sleepy Time Gal," Pizzarelli on "All the Things" and the closing medley, "Peg O' My Heart" / "I'm Confessin.'" The solo order for any of the tracks is not given, nor is there any hint as to the speaker (left or right) through which anyone can be recognized. We are told that Lage plays the lead, Vignola the rhythm on "Sleepy Time Gal" and (for some reason) that Pizzarelli plays a 1947 D'Angelico. Otherwise, as all guitars sound basically alike to some people (not mentioning any names), that makes any individual appraisals rather improbable.

Suffice to say that everyone on the album acquits himself (or herself) well, leaving no room for complaint about the music itself aside from the fact that it is rather guitar-heavy. For those who appreciate the sound of a well-strummed guitar, that should pose no problem. As for the swing quotient, it remains fairly high throughout, reaching its apex on the medley of "Tico Tico" and "Djangomania," taken at breakneck speed by Vignola and Raniolo. Elsewhere, the music is time-tested and should be familiar to most listeners, comprising as it does "The Best Things in Life Are Free," "September Song," "Cry Me a River," "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You," "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" and "Stardust." No surprises there. In spite of the lack of information offered, Swing Zing! is an enjoyable album of guitar-soaked jazz that should please fans of the instrument in general and the Vignola / Raniolo tandem in particular. ~ Jack Bowers http://www.allaboutjazz.com/swing-zing-frank-vignola-fv-records-review-by-jack-bowers.php

Personnel: Frank Vignola: guitar; Vinny Raniolo: guitar; Special guests – Bucky Pizzarelli: guitar; Olli Soikkeli: guitar; Julian Lage: guitar; Gene Bertoncini: guitar; Audra Mariel: guitar; Gary Mazzaroppi: guitar.

Swing Zing

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Julian Lage Group - Gladwell

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:38
Size: 116,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:33)  1. 233 Butler
(9:06)  2. Iowa Taken
(1:08)  3. Listen Daddy
(4:53)  4. Telegram
(6:49)  5. Margaret
(2:12)  6. Point The Way
(6:27)  7. However
(2:10)  8. Freight Train
(2:09)  9. Cathedral
(4:28) 10. Listening Walk
(2:21) 11. Cocoon
(3:16) 12. Autumn Leaves

The term "concept album" is usually used in connection with rock, but jazz has had its concept albums as well (Charles Mingus' The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady and Miles Davis' Sketches of Spain, for example, are among jazz's most celebrated concept albums). Gladwell is a concept album from jazz guitarist/composer Julian Lage; in the liner notes, Lage explains that he envisioned this 2010 recording as an aural depiction of "an imaginary and forgotten town known as Gladwell." Lage doesn't use any lyrics to depict his fictional town: Gladwell is strictly instrumental. And Lage, who is heard on both acoustic and electric guitar, is appealingly melodic on his own compositions (which dominate Gladwell), as well as a performance of the standard "Autumn Leaves." As a guitarist, Lage favors an airy sound along the lines of Pat Metheny and Jim Hall, and as a composer, his influences range from Metheny to Oregon to Weather Report. 

Lage is not a jazz purist; this is jazz mixed with elements of rock, folk, and European classical music. Gladwell is fusion (there is no shame attached to that word), but it isn't the aggressive and heavily amplified fusion one might associate with Scott Henderson & Tribal Tech, Niacin, or Al di Meola. Actually, the playing on this album is largely, though not exclusively, acoustic. Lage plays a lot of acoustic guitar on Gladwell, and his bassist, Jorge Roeder, is heard on upright bass exclusively (rounding out the quintet lineup are tenor saxophonist Dan Blake, cellist Aristides Rivas, and drummer/percussionist Tupac Mantilla). And while Lage clearly has chops, he doesn't beat listeners over the head with them, or his technique. Lage is very much a storyteller, and that storyteller perspective yields excellent results on Gladwell. ~ Alex Henderson http://www.allmusic.com/album/gladwell-mw0002116512
 

Personnel: Julian Lage (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Aristides Rivas (cello); Dan Blake (melodica, tenor saxophone); Jorge Roeder (acoustic bass); Tupac Mantilla (drums, percussion).

Gladwell

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Julian Lage & Fred Hersch - Free Flying

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:51
Size: 121,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:54)  1. Song Without Words #4: Duet
(5:54)  2. Down Home
(4:57)  3. Heartland
(5:04)  4. Free Flying
(5:29)  5. Beatrice
(5:45)  6. Song Without Words #3: Tango
(5:16)  7. Stealthiness
(7:04)  8. Gravity's Pull
(6:24)  9. Monk's Dream

This album is the latest of several recordings in which pianist Fred Hersch solos or joins forces with some highly intelligent, advanced musicians to provide jazz renditions with a sophisticated, chamber music quality. Others are Hersch's Alone at the Vanguard (Palmetto, 2011); Leaves of Grass (Palmetto, 2005) an ensemble composition based on Walt Whitman's poems and two additional solo albums: Fred Hersch plays Jobim (Sunnyside, 2009) and In Amsterdam: Live at the Bimhuis (Palmetto, 2006). He also collaborated with trumpeter Ralph Alessi on Only Many (Cam Jazz, 2013). On Free Flying, Hersch collaborates with guitarist Julian Lage, who, at 25, has already achieved a performance level which makes a good match for Hersch and challenges him in some respects. Lage was hailed as a guitar prodigy when, at age eight, he was playing with Carlos Santana. He was early attracted to jazz, and by the time he was 13, he had performed with Gary Burton and Herbie Hancock. Since then, he has developed into a top-flight guitarist both as a leader and sideman, and has released his own albums, including Sounding Point (Emarcy, 2009) and Gladwell (Emarcy, 2011) The fate of a musical prodigy depends on whether he can transcend the "genius" stereotype and become a working musician, evolving his own musical idiom; Mozart accomplished this and became a composer for the ages. Closer to home, guitarist Pat Martino a slow developer compared to Lage was playing with top groups in his teens, and went on to become an icon because of his innovative and instantly identifiable approach and sound. Lage has reached the point of mature competence and is now striving to evolve into a true guitar master. 

This album shows that he has the potential to join that venerated pantheon, along with the likes of Martino. Doing so will depend on live and studio encounters that give him an opportunity to fully develop his own influential idiom. Here, he has already demonstrated his superb craftsmanship and ability to step up and work closely with a master like Hersch; his job is to blend and, in doing so he succeeds supremely well. Only the future will determine whether or not he adds a unique stamp to his guitar playing.The key element of this outstanding album is the seamless interplay of piano and guitar. Historically, and instrumentally speaking, if you combine a piano and guitar, you get a harpsichord, a keyboard that plucks the strings rather than hammering them. This was the primary keyboard instrument of the Renaissance and Baroque eras, soon to be supplanted, in Bach's time, by the pianoforte the modern piano. Moreover, Bach owned and wrote several compositions for lautenwork, a harpsichord with the softer sound of a lute, a precursor of the guitar. The historical connection between lute, harpsichord and guitar hovers around this duet collaboration between Hersch and Lage. Moreover, as an important basis of jazz counterpoint, highlighted in the bebop era, it derives from Bach as well. Thus, the musical sensibility of this recording is not unlike Bach's tightly textured yet exploratory "Goldberg Variations," except that Hersch and Lage carve out jazz motifs and modern harmonics. The delight of the music comes from its contrapuntal weaving of themes, and variations so well integrated that, except for the different sonorities, they seem to emanate from one player and instrument. Like Bach and the harpsichord, Hersch and Lage vary dynamics and intensity sparingly. The listening pleasure, of which there is plenty here, comes from the mutual brilliance of execution and the architecture and development of musical ideas. This is co-improvisation taken to the highest level.

The compositions on this album are largely Hersch originals previously recorded in other contexts by the pianist. The two exceptions are "Beatrice" by Sam Rivers and "Monk's Dream," from Thelonious Monk. The setting is the Kitano jazz club in New York a small, intimate space with a Steinway piano that has been fingered by some of today's best contemporary jazz pianists, among them Don Friedman, Bill Mays, Roberta Piket and Jim Ridl. The result is studio quality sound with a live ambiance and a touch of emerging jazz history.The initial track is Hersch's "Song without Words #4: Duet," which evokes a madrigal-like quality, as if it could have been performed on period instruments from the Renaissance. The development has a modal feel, as the lilting melody soon lends itself nicely to a rumba-like dance development. (Hersch often mimes the mix of Latin and stride piano heard in the radio days of the 1920s and '30s.) Lage picks up on Hersch's phrasing, so that piano and guitar interact seamlessly. A natural follow-up is "Down Home," which relaxes into syncopated vaudeville with a ragtime twist. The emphasis on rhythmic patterns characterizes the whole set. The mood changes significantly with "Heartland," a reflective ballad whose melody is introduced by Lage, providing a contrast to the driving quality of most of the tracks. Hersch gives a sampling of romantic lounge piano playing at its best, with an open, lyrical quality that owes something to the ethereal beauty achieved by the great Bill Evans. The title tune,"Free Flying" first appeared on Fred Hersch Pocket Orchestra Live at the Jazz Standard (Sunnyside, 2009). The percussive, four-bar theme and variations clearly illustrate the Bach influence, as does the repetitive drone-like bass and alternation of unison and counterpoint between the two instruments. Hersch and Lage work so tightly together that sometimes the only way to tell who's playing is by the sound of the instruments. "Beatrice" a post-bop song by the late great saxophonist Sam Rivers, is one of the most swingable ballads in all of jazz. Here, Hersch and Lage take it at a lively pace, alternating off-beat syncopation with straight-ahead rhythms, releasing themselves from the tight contractions of the other tracks. 

The rhythm work is more playful, yet a certain tension and holding back of the beat pervade the piece. As the album proceeds, Hersch gives Lage more room for his own improvisations, and the guitarist is clearly up to the challenge. "Song Without Words #3: Tango" is vaguely reminiscent of "Midnight Sun," with its descending lament motif. It features Lage, and is a perfect foil for him. He develops a blend of tango and blues in single lines resembling some of Pat Martino's best ballad playing, represented for example in the latter's memorable performance of "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life." "Stealthiness" is dedicated to guitarist Jim Hall, possibly with some reference to the ingenuity of his playing, and the duo engages in rough-hewn Monk-ish rhythmic shifts and quizzical phrases. In this track, each player takes solos with the other comping, in contrast to the contrapuntal playing featured elsewhere. Eventually, Hersch leads up to an energetic coda, a quiet release, and a punctuated end. In turn, "Gravity's Pull" continues with the focus on Lage, showing his melodic style. After a quiet beginning, there is a gradual "pull" that develops into some brilliant Bach-inspired counterpoint. The set ends with "Monk's Dream," with the duo using the Monk tune as a way to play their own version of Monk's punctuations; arrhythmias, and playful use of the upper register. They outdo Monk in eccentricity.

To sum up, Hersch and Lage mesh superbly and have put together a coherent and listenable set of sophisticated improvisations which fuse baroque counterpoint, punctuated rhythms, and diverse jazz motifs in a disciplined yet exciting way. Simply by virtue of the close coordination of piano and guitar and tightness of performance, the album points up the continuity of music from Bach to bop to modernity, and in this respect represents something of a measuring rod for the development of jazz forms. ~Victor L.Schermer  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=45159#.Uj393BAkI5c

Personnel: Fred Hersch: piano; Julian Lage: guitar.

Free Flying

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