Julian Lage | News | INFOTEXT - Julian Lage "Scenes From Above"

 

 

Julian Lage: Electric Guitar:
John Medeski: Hammond B3, Piano
Jorge Roeder: Double Bass
Kenny Wollesen: Drums, Percussion

 

Auf “Scenes From Above”, seinem fünften Blue-Note-Album und Nachfolger des GRAMMY-nominierten "Speak To Me”, erneut produziert von Joe Henry, ist Gitarrenvirtuose Julian Lage mit einer neuen Band feat. John Medeski (organ & piano), Jorge Roeder (bass) und Kenny Wollesen (drums) zu hören. Sein einzigartiger Sound trifft hier auf den klassischer Gitarre/Orgel-Sessions der Jazzgeschichte, wie z.B. Grant Green & Larry Young, Wes Montgomery & Jimmy Smith, George Benson & Lonnie Smith oder Kenny Burrell & Jack McDuff.

Where 2024’s GRAMMY-nominated “Speak to Me” was Julian Lage’s grand statement as an improvising bandleader helming an ensemble through a diverse set of tunes, his new album “Scenes from Above” is about being a band member himself, about Lage exploring the tunes he has written with a crew he has built with that entirely in mind. Its nine tracks frame a brilliantly open experience, with four astounding players giving and taking space in equal measure as they explore these songs in one space, in real time.

“I came in with a desire to present this as an egalitarian thing, rather than ‘I’m the leader — let’s build something around me,’” Lage says. “This is music that’s connected to our own growth and development individually and within our relationships with one another, with no sense that anybody’s expecting anything.”

The album’s nine compositions resulted from what Lage calls a writing sprint ahead of a residency at SFJAZZ which marked the live debut of the band. As he thought about each of their qualities as players and hypothesized about how they might interact, he set a timer for 20 minutes, wrote a tune, recorded it once, and then began again. “My dream with composing, really, is to have something to talk about once we’re together,” he says. “It’s not the end-all, be-all.”

“Julian really thinks about things, has a lot of intention,” says John Medeski. “But it’s a beautiful combination of caring about the concept and direction and of being free and in the moment.” “Scenes from Above” radiates both qualities in tandem, and that’s what makes the album so poignant and timely. 

Julian Lage has also announced upcoming touring including a tour of Japan, a performance at the Big Ears Festival, and a concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London with additional touring to be announced soon.

 

Konzerte in Deutschland: 

07.05.2026         Berlin    Huxley’s Neue Welt
11.05.2026         Köln       Kantine

 

 

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