JULIAN LAGE “Scenes From Above”

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ARTIST

Julian Lage

ALBUM TITLE

“Scenes from Above”

LABEL

Blue Note

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For his fifth Blue Note release, Julian Lage once again turns to producer Joe Henry, continuing a collaboration that began during a difficult period in the guitarist’s personal life and nevertheless yielded the excellent Speak to Me. At the same time, he introduces a new quartet, albeit one composed of trusted musicians with whom he has already shared substantial musical experience.

While the ensemble is smaller than the one featured on the previous album, the presence of keyboards remains central, confirming a direction aimed not only at enriching the group’s timbral palette but also at achieving a sophisticated sense of cohesion. Within this setting, the distinctive qualities of Lage’s writing and artistic personality emerge with even greater clarity and confidence.

The continued collaboration with Henry can therefore be viewed as an unequivocally positive development, as can the inclusion of an undisputed master such as John Medeski, who proves ideally suited to the role. As for Jorge Roeder and Kenny Wollesen, whose musical partnership with Lage has been forged over years of touring, little more needs to be said.

This is very much a collective endeavour, distinguished above all by its remarkable spontaneity and communicative immediacy. The circumstances of its creation help explain why. The entire album was written during a residency at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco according to a particularly unusual process: each of the nine compositions – all by Lage – was written and recorded within a roughly twenty-minute window.

The result is music that benefits from an extraordinary freshness while remaining meticulously crafted and richly detailed. The balance achieved across the album – skilfully blending post-bop language with elements of rock and blues – together with its persuasive melodic eloquence, represents the current hallmark of Lage’s work as a bandleader.

Recent years have provided further confirmation of this artistic maturity through his astonishing solo acoustic performances, many of which can easily be found online and are highly recommended. They offer clear evidence of a creative voice that no longer needs to prove itself.

And then there will be the concerts. As we have written many times before, this music will ultimately reveal its full potential on stage, and we eagerly await the opportunity to hear this quartet in person.

Strongly recommended.

Sandro Cerini

DISTRIBUTED BY

Universal

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