Julian Lage is just getting started

By Will CafaroOctober 25th, 2011Beantown Jazz, Blogs, SliderPhil Farnsworth

“Music is only one avenue of communication and I feel like I’m still exploring different means of expression.”

Twenty-three-year-old guitarist/composer Julian Lage has been garnering a world-class reputation since his early teens. He was the subject of the award-winning documentary Jules at Eight, then gained major recognition from appearing in Gary Burton’s “Generations” band at age 15. By 2009, his debut album Sounding Point received a Grammy nomination in the category of “Best Contemporary Jazz Album.” To add another invigorating notch in what has already been a boundary-pushing career, Julian just released of his second album, Gladwell, this past May.

A California native, Lage was a student of well-known San Francisco guitarist Randy Vincent. Along with Lage’s father, Vincent was one of Julian’s earliest mentors. “I was really, really lucky. Randy introduced me to a lot of different musicians. I met Pat Martino when I was 12.” Lage also studied at multiple conservatories and music schools such as The Ali Akbar College of Music, San Francisco Conservatory, Sonoma State University, as well as completing a diploma here at Berklee College of Music. Always pulling influence and inspiration from nature, his compositions and solos already demonstrate a mature and cultivated style reflective of his developmental and ever-searching sensibilities.

Julian was kind enough to give BerkleeJazz a phone interview from his New York City residence. At 3:00 p.m., he apologized for being a little sleepy, which was understandable considering he was in the middle of performing every night with The New Gary Burton Quartet at the Blue Note.

BerkleeJazz: Who were some of your first guitar influences?
Julian Lage: Blues Guitarists; Stevie Ray Vaughn, and T- Bone Walker especially.

BJ: What were some the first pieces of music you learned?
JL: I didn’t learn a lot of songs — I would improvise a lot. The first thing I learned was an A minor pentatonic scale and I would improvise with that for a while, using different blues ideas.

BJ: What albums have you been listening to lately?
JL: Randy Vincent’s Songbook Vol. 1 and the new St. Vincent Album.

BJ: When did you begin to develop and write the music for your first album Sounding Point?
JL: I actually didn’t have much of the music written down or planned out for the first rehearsals. I knew that I had a group of musicians that I wanted to record a project with and we ended up figuring out the music in the rehearsals together with about two months of preparation.

BJ: What are some new projects that you’re working on?
JL: Right now I’m forming a trio with Larry Grenadier (bass) and Eric Harland (drums), and I recently played on a live recording with three other guitarists led by composer/guitarist Anthony Wilson.

BJ: When did you decide that you wanted to pursue music full time?
JL: I’m not exactly sure. I started thinking about music as a career path more seriously when I was maybe 13, but I’m still not completely settled on just music. Music is only one avenue of communication and I feel like I’m still exploring different means of expression and how to communicate with people.