Drummer

Santa Rosa-born guitarist Julian Lage has emerged as a stunningly accomplished creative force in modern music. He was the subject of the Oscar-nominated documentary film Jules at Eight, a Grammy Award performer at 13, and achieved faculty status at the Stanford Jazz Workshop at 15. Lage joined the vibraphone innovator Gary Burton’s star-making quartet in 2004 at age 16, and has embraced jazz, pop, country, bluegrass, and acoustic folk with equal élan. He’s recorded 15 albums as a leader and lent his singular virtuosity to work with Charles Lloyd, Eric Harland, John Zorn, Terri Lyne Carrington, Fred Hersch, and Nels Cline. Lage is joined by longtime bassist Jorge Roeder, drummer Kenny Wollesen, and keyboard master John Medeski, best known as one third of the jazz-funk trio Medeski Martin & Wood.

Julian Lage Quartet Ft. John Medeski, Jorge Roeder, Kenny Wollesen

Trustees' Garden

EPSG:4326

Bill Frisell – Good Dog with Greg Leisz, Tony Scherr, and Kenny Wolleson

The Freight

Trumpeter Steven Bernstein’s week begins with his long-running band Sex Mob, playing a cross-section of fresh material and selections from their repertoire.

The quartet has honed a singular sound over two decades marked by high-energy, protean group improvisation and rollicking grooves unlike any other band on the planet. Originally formed for a weekly residency at New York’s Knitting Factory, they’ve earned a devoted fan base with boisterous deconstructions of tunes by a shaggy menagerie of pop acts, from Abba and James Brown to Prince and Elvis Presley, and subversively re-imagined film music of Nino Rota and John Barry. They’ve released nine superlative albums for the Ropeadope, Columbia, Rex, Thirsty Ear, and Royal Potato labels.

Steven Bernstein: Sex Mob

SFJAZZ Center

WORDS ON FIVE FROM BILL:
I’ve been dreaming of this for a long long time.
Kenny Wollesen, Tony Scherr, and I have a long long history playing as a trio.
Rudy Royston, Thomas Morgan, and I have a long long history playing as a trio.
I’ve played trio with Rudy and Tony.
I’ve played trio with Kenny and Thomas.
I’ve played duets with all of them.
They are my friends, my teachers, my heroes. Every moment a joy and inspiration.

Bill Frisell FIVE

Count Basie Center for the Arts

“One of jazz’s breezier virtuosos, possessed of an unflappable technical facility and a seemingly boundless curiosity” (The New York Times), guitarist and former SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director Julian Lage returns with original music from his newest Blue Note album Scenes from Above with his superlative quartet including organ star John Medeski, bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Kenny Wollesen. The acclaimed Mexican singer and composer Laura Itandehui opens the show.

Julian Lage Quartet

Davies Symphony Hall

In late 2024, prolific guitarist Julian Lage embarked on an intense writing sprint that led to Scenes from Above, a new project forged for a special quartet featuring steadfast bassist Jorge Roeder, dynamic drummer Kenny Wollesen, and vaunted keyboardist John Medeski — close collaborators who had never before recorded together. The music emphasizes interaction, restraint, and real-time discovery over virtuoso display.

Produced by Joe Henry, the album marks a shift from Lage’s large-ensemble ambitions toward a deeply egalitarian band dynamic, drawing inspiration from folkloric traditions, blues, and global song forms. The result is an intimate, vivid listening experience: four dazzling musicians sharing space, listening closely, and shaping music that feels both spontaneous and purposefully alive.

Drummer

Kenny Wollesen

Events

Upcoming events

Oct 19, 2026

Julian Lage Quartet · San Francisco Jazz

Oct 22, 2026

Julian Lage Quartet · Lobero Theatre

Past events

Apr 1, 2026

Julian Lage Quartet Ft. John Medeski, Jorge Roeder, Kenny Wollesen · Savannah Music Festival

17 - 18 May, 2025

Bill Frisell – Good Dog with Greg Leisz, Tony Scherr, and Kenny Wolleson · The Freight

About

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