Photo Credit: Alysse Gafkjen
Guitar virtuoso Julian Lage will be touring the United States in the fall. Beginning September 25 at Los Angeles, CA’s Teragram Ballroom, this first leg of touring in support of his June 11-released Blue Note Records debut, Squint, ends on October 9 at Toronto, ONT’s Axis Club. The dates pick up again on December 4 at (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York City and continue through December 12 at Nashville, TN’s The Basement East. The September-October run will feature bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Kenny Wollesen.
Lage will be offering exclusive Master Classes in select cities throughout the tour. All Master Class tickets include admission for one to the evening’s concert. Where available, Master Class tickets will also include early admission to the show. During each class, 30 minutes will be spent teaching a unique piece of curriculum before a 10-15 minute Q&A session. Tickets to these classes are limited to ensure everyone comes away with a unique and hands-on experience. All tickets are on sale now. The complete itinerary is below. For more information on Lage’s tour plans and Master Classes, please visit www.julianlage.com/tour.
Today, Lage is also releasing another epic live performance video of one of the songs from Squint. Beginning with a brooding pulse from King and bassist Roeder, “Familiar Flower” is a dedication to the great Charles Lloyd, with whom Lage has had the opportunity to play in recent years.
“Charles somehow writes and arranges his songs so that the second the beat starts, you know it’s his tune,” says Lage. “His DNA is just embedded into the rhythm section. I still don’t know how he does it, but I tried to write that tune so that the tone is set before I even come in.”
Squint is a striking full-length that weds incisive, expressive songwriting with the profound interplay Lage has honed over the past few years with his trio featuring Roeder and drummer Dave King (The Bad Plus). The album is available now for pre-order on vinyl, CD, or download. It was heralded in March with the release of the infectious lead single “Saint Rose,” and then was followed shortly thereafter by the loping swing of “Boo’s Blues,” which exemplifies the guitarist’s ability to write with his bandmates in mind while echoing his influences. Last month, he shared a live performance video of Squint’s elegant lead song, “Etude.”
“I absolutely love improvised music, and I’ve always been fascinated by singer-songwriter music,” says Lage. “For me, the jazz that came out of Blue Note always engaged both sides of that. It had incredible improvisational vocabularies and performances, but when I think of albums from Grant Green’s Idle Moments to Joe Henderson’s Inner Urge to McCoy Tyner’s Time for Tyner with Bobby Hutcherson – all these records that I love so much also have such great songs. I felt like this was an opportunity to present new music born out of the Blue Note tradition as I’ve interpreted it.”
JULIAN LAGE TOUR 2021
Sep 25 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom
Sep 26 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
Sep 28 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater
Sep 29 – Seattle, WA – Neumos
Oct 1 – Salt Lake City, UT – The State Room
Oct 2 – Denver, CO – Daniels Hall
Oct 3 – Boulder, CO – Fox Theatre
Oct 5 – Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line
Oct 7 – Evanston, IL – SPACE
Oct 9 – Toronto, ON – Axis Club
Dec 4 – New York, NY – (Le) Poisson Rouge
Dec 7 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
Dec 8 – Washington, DC – Union Stage
Dec 9 – Charlottesville, VA – The Southern
Dec 11 – Atlanta, GA – Vinyl
Dec 12 – Nashville, TN – The Basement East
