A few notes from American guitarist Julian Lage, and his trio: Jorge Roeder, bass and Eric Doob, drums – recorded live at Domaine d’O in Montpellier, France on July 23, 2018 and broadcast by Radio France Musique shortly after.
A little bit about Julian Lage via his website page:
As Julian Lage set out to record his leader debut for Blue Note Records, the virtuoso guitarist reflected on the label’s storied history and the way his own music connected with it. The result is Squint, a striking new album that weds incisive, expressive songwriting with the profound interplay Lage has honed over the past few years with his deft trio featuring bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King.
“I felt like this was an opportunity to present new music born out of the Blue Note tradition as I’ve interpreted it,” explains Lage, who previously recorded for the label with The Nels Cline 4’s Currents, Constellations and Charles Lloyd’s celebratory 8: Kindred Spirits.
“I absolutely love improvised music, and I’ve always been fascinated by singer-songwriter music. For me, the jazz that came out of Blue Note always engaged both sides of that. It had incredible improvisational vocabularies and performances, but when I think of albums from Grant Green’s Idle Moments to Joe Henderson’s Inner Urge to McCoy Tyner’s Time for Tyner with Bobby Hutcherson – all these records that I love so much also have such great songs.”
When the trio took the stage of the Village Vanguard for a six-night residency in January 2020, those ideas seemed ripe enough to explore as they planned to head into the studio. When those plans were upended by the pandemic, Lage took the opportunity to retool his new songs in light of the summer’s lockdown and protests over social justice. By the time he, Roeder and King finally set foot in Nashville’s Sound Emporium in August, the tunes had taken on a deeper, darker air of mystery and searching.
“We’ve inherited this art and all we can really do is present it with love and care and honesty,” he concludes. “Through that prism, unpredictable moments are joyous. Forget abiding by my vision. There’s a much bigger vision that we’re all taking part in and celebrating. That’s a beautiful thing.”
On to the Music – dive in and enjoy.
