Home » Jazz Articles » Live Review » Julian Lage At Empire Music Hall

Julian Lage At Empire Music Hall

By Ian Patterson
November 21, 2024
View read count

For all Lage's technical wizardry he never ceased to transmit a sense of joy and wonder at the music coming through his fingers.

Julian Lage
Empire Music Hall
Belfast, N. Ireland
November 13, 2024

It is not too often that Julian Lage tours with nothing more than an acoustic guitar in tow. The solo acoustic album World's Fair (Modern Love, 2015) suggested at the time that the Californian might juggle solo performances with his group projects, but the following decade turned out differently. "My head was somewhere else," he told the Belfast audience.

That somewhere else translated into a slew of brilliant albums, of which Squint (2021), View With A Room (2022) and Speak To Me (2024) on the storied Blue Note label. Then there was the small matter of two dozen albums with

John Zorn

saxophone, alto
b.1953

" data-original-title="" title="">John Zorn, numerous other collaborations, high-profile teaching gigs and Grammy nominations.

Lage got his big break aged just sixteen in

Gary Burton

vibraphone
b.1943

" data-original-title="" title="">Gary Burton's group, so he knows the value of a platform and mentorship early in one's career. Lage's support act was Ike Thomas, a young singer-songwriter armed with an acoustic guitar and a bag of original songs. This was the young Liverpudlian's first ever tour, and the fairly packed Empire Music Hall was, he said, the largest crowd he had ever played to. But if there were nerves he did not show it in his music. Humble, quietly charming and grateful of the audience's warm support, he looked to be in his natural habitat as he worked his way through a short, intimate set laced with sensitivity, and on "Her and I," a little dark humor.

On songs such as "I Will Bore You To Death," "Outside," and "Anyway" Thomas' delivery lay somewhere between Nick Drake and David Gray, while the gorgeous, deeply poetic "Sunflowers in Bloom" could have come from the pen of

Melody Gardot

guitar and vocals
b.1985

" data-original-title="" title="">Melody Gardot. The ovation that greeted Thomas as he signed off, however, was the best indicator of the quality of his songs and of his performance. A young troubadour with a bright future ahead.

When Lage emerged fifteen minutes later it was to a rapturous reception. In return, he offered a smile and raise of the hand before opening with a brace of tunes from the aforementioned solo album. On "Gardens" Lage toggled between bucolic arpeggios, a bright melody—picked then strummed—and dashing runs of breathless speed and precision. There were fewer fireworks on the country-ish shuffle of "Day and Age," more of feel-good strum than anything.

But whether using a standard as a base camp from which to launch dizzying routes up and down his fretboard or leaning into classical winds on "Etude," Lage drew from a wide range of sources that mark him out as a musical polyglot—hardly surprising from someone who played in a trio with

Chris Thile

mandolin
b.1981

" data-original-title="" title="">Chris Thile and

Bela Fleck

banjo
b.1958

" data-original-title="" title="">Bela Fleck when fresh out of college, and who bounces between gigs with

John Zorn

saxophone, alto
b.1953

" data-original-title="" title="">John Zorn,

Charles Lloyd

saxophone
b.1938

" data-original-title="" title="">Charles Lloyd and

Nels Cline

guitar, electric
b.1956

" data-original-title="" title="">Nels Cline.

Lage paid tribute to

Ornette Coleman

saxophone, alto
1930 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Ornette Coleman with a classically tinged interpretation of the Texan's heart-melting ballad "Chanting" that held the audience rapt. And from the sublime to the ridiculous with "Northern Shuffle"—a riff-based blues romp peppered with quicksilver runs of uncommon dexterity that had people shaking their heads and laughing in a mixture of disbelief and awe. For all Lage's technical wizardry—is it normal for a little finger to play the top string?—he never ceased to transmit a sense of joy and wonder at the music coming through his fingers.

There is a lot more to Lage's playing than dazzling chops; Jimmy McHugh's ballad "Say It (Over and Over Again)" showcased the refinement and sensitivity in his armory, the guitarist acknowledging his debt to

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane's version from Ballads (Impulse!, 1963). At slower tempi, especially on country-blues fare, one could better appreciate the little slurs, feathery arpeggios, unexpected grace notes and slide-like effects that punctuated his unfailingly melodic narratives.

Lage signed off with "Peru," an uplifting mosaic of dancing rhythms and sunny melodies, which he dedicated to bassist

Jorge Roeder

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Jorge Roeder, "my closest collaborator in the world." For the inevitable encore one might have expected some farewell rockets but instead Lage offered a delicate coda, delightfully balanced between classical and folk, that was as soft and quietly sparkling as morning dew.

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Alexander Flood, Caixa Cabo, Butcher...
< Previous

Maria Schneider and the Clasijazz Bi...
Next >

Julian Lage Concerts

Oct 4 Sat

Julian Lage

Maryland Hall For The Creative Arts
Annapolis, MD

Oct 5 Sun

Julian Lage

Ridgefield Playhouse
Ridgefield, CT

Oct 18 Sat

Julian Lage

Sanders Theatre
Cambridge, MA

Nov 3 Mon

Julian Lage

Elbphilharmonie Kulturcafé
Hamburg, Germany

Nov 4 Tue

Julian Lage

The Helix
Dublin, Ireland

Nov 9 Sun

Julian Lage

Het Concertgebouw
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Jan 31 Sat

Julian Lage

Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts
Brookfield, WI

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.