Guitarist

Hailed as one of the most prodigious guitarists of his generation and “highest category of improvising musicians" (New Yorker), Julian Lage has spent more than a decade searching through the myriad strains of American musical history via impeccable technique, free association and a spirit of infinite possibility. The California-born, New York-based musician boasts a prolific resume on his own accord in addition to collaborating with Gary Burton and John Zorn, as well as duo projects with Nels Cline, Chris Eldridge and Fred Hersch, among others.

Julian Lage

New Century

Led by 2023 Grammy-winning pianist/composer Kris Davis, this special concert is named for Davis’s 2019 breakthrough album, which was awarded “Jazz Album of the Year” by both The New York Times and NPR. “Bringing together wildly diverse musicians in tangled unity,” Davis often sets her improvisations to “grooves played with prismatic nuance” (The New York Times) by drummer Terri Lyne Carrington—a four-time Grammy winner and NEA Jazz Master herself. Turntablist and electronic musician Val Jeanty, bassist Trevor Dunn, and guitarist Julian Lage add layers of sonic texture for a thrilling and unexpected sound.

EPSG:4326

Kris Davis Diatom Ribbons

College of Charleston

The Carnegie Mellon Guitar Ensemble presents creatively expressive performances of duos, trios, quartets, and larger ensemble music from every major Western music style period.

Carnegie Mellon Guitar Ensemble

Carnegie Mellon University

Resident Artistic Director Julian Lage begins his week with a solo recital, showcasing the breadth of his guitar mastery in the most revealing setting — one in which his peerless musicianship is presented without restrictions, undiluted and unadorned.

Julian Lage, SOLO GUITAR

SFJAZZ Center

Lage’s final night of residency is a celebration of the late guitar legend Jim Hall, a lasting influence on and mentor to Lage, featuring an all-star quartet with deep ties to the 2004 NEA Jazz Master who passed away in 2013.

The masterful rhythm section of veterans Scott Colley and Joey Baron performed widely in Hall’s trio during his last years, with Lage joining during a memorable week at New York’s Blue Note in 2012. Of Lage, Hall said, “Incredible player. Julian Lage is the new jazz guard.”

Julian Lage Quartet: Jim Hall Tribute

Lage honors the legacy and enduring influence of piano icon Keith Jarrett with his current trio, plus a special guest pianist to-be-named soon. Lage acknowledged Jarrett’s fertile 1970s compositional period with a pair of tracks on his 2019 Mack Avenue trio date Love Hurts with Roeder and King, tackling Jarrett’s serpentine and ebullient “The Windup” from his 1974 ECM masterpiece Belonging and “Encore (A)” from the 1979 session Eyes of the Heart featuring the pianist’s vaunted American quartet. Lage keeps the flame burning for the sidelined Jarrett, whose performing career has now tragically come to an end.

Julian Lage Quartet: Music of Keith Jarrett

Night two brings a special night with Lage’s working trio featuring bassist Jorge Roeder and Dave King on drums, joined by the acclaimed singer and songwriter Margaret Glaspy for her collaborative project with Lage, Rude Ruth. Formed a decade ago by the now husband-and-wife team of Lage and Glaspy and originally performing as a duo, Rude Ruth re-imagines Glaspy’s folk-rock compositions concerning romantic conflict with the improvisational depth of Lage’s band, adding unexpected new dimensions to the singer’s work with an unusually empathetic backing.

Julian Lage: Rude Ruth

Resident Artistic Director Julian Lage begins his week with a solo recital, showcasing the breadth of his guitar mastery in the most revealing setting — one in which his peerless musicianship is presented without restrictions, undiluted and unadorned.


The evening harkens back to Lage’s landmark 2015 Modern Lore release World’s Fair, a solo guitar session of original compositions focused on the exploration of the song styles that shaped his own aesthetic, inspired by the work of a formative influence, classical guitar genius Andrés Segovia.

Julian Lage, Solo Guitar

Jazz guitarist Julian Lage expands his horizons on View With A Room, a collection of 10 compelling original compositions that marks his second release for Blue Note Records. Having established a home base with his brilliant and deeply attuned trio of bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King—most recently heard on the guitarist’s acclaimed 2021 Blue Note debut Squint—Lage casts his gaze outward to discover new orchestrational possibilities with the addition of six-string icon Bill Frisell, who adds his inimitable voice to this absolutely stunning album.

Groton Hill Music Center

Three-time Grammy nominee Julian Lage has been named among the “highest category of improvising musicians” by The New Yorker and has played his guitar with everyone from John Zorn to Nels Cline. While always evolving and hungry for the unexpected, his music is tuneful, rich, and soulful, as he shows on his recent debut for Blue Note records, Squint, which Downbeat called “a singularly modern take on Blue Note tradition.”

Julian Lage and The Bad Plus

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Julian Lage brings a program of music including material from his new Blue Note album Speak To Me with his current working trio including longtime bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King of The Bad Plus fame. For this special night, the band is joined by keyboard master John Medeski

Julian Lage Quartet

Lage's final night as Resident Artistic Director pairs him with the iconoclastic guitar genius Marc Ribot, who returns following his 70th Birthday celebration in September of 2024.

A singular instrumentalist, Ribot follows his muse wherever it leads, resulting in a career path that has ranged across free jazz and no wave, rock, film music, and Cuban rumba. Beyond his wildly eclectic output as a leader, which has veered from the rollicking Los Cubanos Postizos project and the avant-rock Ceramic Dog to a solo guitar score to Charlie Chaplin’s 1921 silent classic The Kid, Ribot is best known as a key collaborator with Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, John Zorn, the Lounge Lizards, Diana Krall, and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (contributing to their 2007 hit album Raising Sand).

Julian Lage DUET FOR GUITARS

Hailed by The New York Times as “one of the greatest musicians in jazz history,” GRAMMY® Award-winning saxophone titan Joe Lovano has distinguished himself as a prescient and pathfinding force in the arena of creative music. Joe Lovano and virtuoso guitarist Julian Lage have enjoyed a long journey of mutual artistic admiration. They are joined by longtime Lovano collaborator Santi Debriano on bass and drummer Will Calhoun (of Living Colour fame). The Paramount Quartet promises a evening of exquisite jazz stylings.

Julian Lage

Guitarist

Events

Upcoming events

Feb 22, 2025

Julian Lage Quartet · San Francisco Jazz

Feb 23, 2025

Julian Lage DUET FOR GUITARS · San Francisco Jazz

Apr 11, 2025

Paramount Quartet · La Jolla Music Society

Past events

Nov 19, 2024

Julian Lage · New Century

Jun 2, 2024

Kris Davis Diatom Ribbons · Spoleto Festival USA

About

Julian Lage hasn't added a bio