JULIAN LAGE @ Huxleys

Julian Lage featuring 
John Medeski 
Jorge Roeder 
Kenny Wollesen

Julian Lage comes to Berlin with John Medeski (keys), Jorge Roeder (bass), Kenny Wollesen (drums), and his new album Scenes from Above.

If Speak to Me (2024) was Julian Lage’s statement as an improvising bandleader guiding a relatively large ensemble through a wide-ranging program, Scenes from Above shows him in a different light: as one voice within a quartet. Recorded with this four-piece lineup, the nine tracks unfold an open, organic sound born of true collaboration. There are no overpowering solos—just four musicians in constant conversation, giving and taking space in equal measure as they explore the songs in real time. It’s a sound that unmistakably grows out of the shared creative process.

In an almost playful way, Julian Lage’s exceptional strengths come fully into focus once again: a sonic architect moving effortlessly through the many currents of music history—jazz, pop, country, bluegrass, acoustic folk, and rock. Acoustic and electric guitars, subtle melodies, and intricate textures merge into a sound that is transparent and deep, yet immediately accessible. At times delicate and atmospheric (“Opal”), at others pulsing and playful (“Talking Drum”), or emotionally expansive and wide open (“Something More”).

Though not yet 40, Julian Lage has already been an internationally celebrated guitar virtuoso for three decades. Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, he began performing publicly at the age of six and, two years later, was already playing alongside artists such as Carlos Santana. A documentary titled Jules at Eight was made about him, and at just 15 he led his first jazz workshop at Stanford University. Now based in New York, Lage looks back on a long and distinguished career shaped by collaborations with Gary Burton and John Zorn, as well as duo projects with artists including Nels Cline, Chris Eldridge, and Fred Hersch.

What makes Julian Lage—and his concerts—so special is his expansive harmonic vocabulary, flawless technique, and astonishing ability for free association and improvisation. Yet he always sounds natural and unforced, as if he were playing a spontaneous set in the neighborhood bar.

Foto: Hannah Gray Hall