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Virtuoso guitarist Julian Lage has announced today’s premiere of “This World,” a song featuring Lage and Bill Frisell alone on acoustic guitars. The song is from his upcoming new album, The Layers, available via Blue Note Records on Friday, March 17. Pre-orders – including vinyl, CD, and download – are available now.
“’This World’ was originally written as a drone piece for the trio featuring Bill Frisell,” says Lage. “The idea was to state the melody and then have Bill soar on top of the groove as it steadily built more intensely, always remaining tethered to the E drone. After rehearsals, it seemed clear that it made more sense to go the other direction – more intimate, just two acoustic guitars approaching the song more gently and sparsely. I think this piece found its home in this more resonant realm.”
LISTEN TO “THIS WORLD”
PRE-ORDER THE LAYERS
A stunning companion piece to last year’s View With A Room, The Layers was first heralded earlier this month with the premiere of its title track available now at all streaming services alongside an official live trio performance video streaming now on YouTube.
WATCH “THE LAYERS (OFFICIAL LIVE PERFORMANCE VIDEO)”
Imbued with vibrant colors and exquisite interplay, The Layers features six original pieces recorded during the same sessions which yielded View With A Room, sessions which found Lage discovering new orchestrational possibilities by augmenting his deeply attuned core trio of bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King with the addition of fellow guitar icon Bill Frisell. The new album marks a welcome additional offering from this meeting of two of modern jazz’s most distinctive voices with one of the music’s most skilled and inventive rhythm sections. The six songs on The Layers all share a musical spirit that stems from a more atmospheric world than its predecessor, half of them centered around the acoustic guitar, which further distinguishes the sonic palette, and all exploring longer-form structures with wider improvisational expanses. Produced by Margaret Glaspy, The Layers was recorded by Mark Goodell with additional production by Armand Hirsch.
“At its core, The Layers is a prequel to View With A Room,” says Julian Lage. “It has all the musical seeds that grew into what I consider the touchstones of View With A Room – a duo with Bill, a duo with Jorge, more atmospheric and expansive writing, Dave and Jorge’s incredible rhythmic and orchestrational sensibilities. View With A Room is a comprehensive look at these musical qualities we were so excited to explore in the studio, and The Layers offers a distillation of the various relationships within the ensemble and production team. Taken as a whole, The Layers has a heartbeat all of its own.”
Lage will mark the arrival of The Layers with a busy international live schedule, including sold-out headline shows, festival performances, and more. North American dates will be announced soon. For complete details and ticket information, please visit www.julianlage.com/tour.
JULIAN LAGE – TOUR 2023
March 31 - Knoxville, TN - Big Ears Festival
April 27 - Manchester, UK - Band on the Wall
April 29 - London, UK - Union Chapel
April 30 - Cheltenham, UK - Cheltenham Jazz Fest
May 2 - Amsterdam, ND - Bimhuis
May 3 - Amsterdam, ND - Bimhuis
May 4 - Hamburg, DE - Elbphilharmonie Kleiner Saal
May 6 - Tilburg, ND - Paradox Tilburg
May 7 - Baden-Baden, DE - Festival Hall
May 9 - Vienna, AT - Porgy & Bess Jazz & Music Club
May 11 - Ankara, Turkey - CSO Concert Hall
July 22 - San Sebastian, ES - San Sebastian Jazz Festival
Aug 21-25 - Big Indian, NY - Alternative Guitar Summit Camp
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PRAISE FOR VIEW WITH A ROOM
“Lage and Frisell, relishing the electric guitar’s sonic possibilities, deliver a kaleidoscope of twangy textures, bendy shimmers, muted strings and speedy ice-cool lines.”
– FINANCIAL TIMES (****)
“A landmark pairing of Lage and Bill Frisell,
who communicate a sense of whimsy as well as the sheer Chet Atkins-like
joy of just plucking six strings on this crisp program of originals.” (****)
– DOWNBEAT
“A vibrant mix of swing, blues, and elegant arrangements that showcase the growing compositional skill of one of today’s brightest jazz guitarists. Let’s hope for plenty more Frisell and Lage collaborations in the future.”
– JAZZ TIMES
“10 melody-rich originals.”
– JAZZIZ
“On View with a Room, Lage’s second release on the hallowed Blue Note Records, he’s offering a fresh, bold continuation of the conversation he’s created over the years.”
– PREMIERE GUITAR
“Two consummate musicians at one with their craft
bringing composition after composition alive with invention,
empathy and mutual respect – no grandstanding here and music is the winner.”
– JAZZWISE
“This is two masters of the six strings sitting down without overplanning…View With A Room features a definite American feeling, authentically so, twanging at times, picking out sharp, succinct, delicate points of light at others, with the pair of guitars painting lush, beautiful harmonies.
It has the feel of a sophisticated and virtuosic cowboy band.”
– ALL ABOUT JAZZ
“View With a Room is packed tight with passages of great musical depth, coming in various tempos and moods… Frisell has played with other guitarists before, but this is the first time I’ve heard him so thoroughly fold himself into another guitar player’s sound. There’s more here that we aren’t hearing yet.”
– POPMATTERS
“View With A Room further documents Lage’s progression
as a composer, musician, and recording artist.”
– GLIDE MAGAZINE
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