Julian Lage: Squint

  With Squint, his debut as a leader for Blue Note Records, guitarist Julian Lage completes an unusual musical relay. It goes like this: towards the end of the 1950's, saxophonist Boots Randolph prevailed upon young vibraphonist Gary Burton to move to Nashville, where he made his earliest recordings with Randolph, guitarist Hank Garland, and pianist Floyd Cramer. That sojourn lasted for a couple of years, until Burton relocated to New York. The first Gary Burton quartet with Larry Coryell on guitar recorded Duster in 1967. Coryell was succeeded by, among others, Jerry Hahn, Mick Goodrick, and Pat Metheny in various Burton units over the years. In 2003, Burton introduced his new band, bringing Julian Lage to immediate prominence. Lage went on to record four CDs with Burton, with his own first record as a leader for EmArcy in 2009. Now Lage himself has completed the circle by moving to Nashville, where he recorded Squint at home and at the legendary Sound Emporium Studios. Anyone who’s heard any of the Burton titles or Lage’s collaborations with fellow guitarist Nels Cline (Room, 2014; and Currents, Constellations, 2018) knows that Lage is a consistently exciting and inventive player. His trio of the last few years featuring Jorge Roeder on bass and Dave King on drums has attained a beautifully poised sound and they more than do justice to Lage’s tuneful originals. The opening Etude is a relaxing solo piece, welcoming us to the session. Eight Lage compositions by the trio are on the program, along with Johnny Mercer’s Emily, popular with improvisers since its debut in 1964, and the more obscure Call of the Canyon, by Billy Hill, sung first by Frank Sinatra with Tommy Dorsey in 1940 and later by Gene Autry in a 1942 film of the same name. Highlights include the perky groove of Saint Rose, the sweetly delicate treatment of Emily, the trenchant interplay of the trio on the up-tempo Familiar Flower, and the utterly relaxed Short Form. Squint is happily recommended. 

Blue Note B08Y4H43VJ; Julian Lage (el g) Jorge Roeder (b) Dave King (d); Nashville, TN, August 15-19, 2020; Etude (solo guitar)/ Boo's Blues/ Squint/ Saint Rose/ Emily/ Familiar Flower/ Day and Age/ Quiet Like a Fuse/ Short Form/ Twilight Surfer/ Call Of The Canyon; 45:32. www.bluenote.com