Julian Lage: ‘Scenes From Above’

The guitar-playing phenomenon that is Julian Lage is back with ‘Scenes From Above’ following his 2024 Grammy-nominated tour de force ‘Speak To Me’. This time, Lage features a stunning quartet with nine original tracks.

Julian Lage Quartet @Hannah Gray Hall

Scenes From Above is Lage’s fifth Blue Note album, the second made in collaboration with revered producer Joe Henry. What makes this particularly interesting (the music is great, obviously!) is the composition process as this amazing quartet explores each tune together in real time.

The guitarist and composer says: “I came in with a desire to present this as an egalitarian thing, rather than ‘I’m the leader — let’s build something around me'.  This is music that’s connected to our own growth and development individually and within our relationships with one another, with no sense that anybody’s expecting anything.”

As he thought about each of the quartet’s qualities as players, he set a timer for 20 minutes, wrote a tune, recorded it once, and then began again. “My dream with composing, really, is to have something to talk about once we’re together. It’s not the end-all, be-all.”

This new quartet breathes expressive, dynamic life into the nine tunes: John Medeski (organ and piano), Jorge Roeder (bass) and Kenny Wollesen (drums).

Scenes From Above opens with the first single - Opal - in a gentle but insistent start that establishes Lage’s guitar brilliantly in the quartet context. The keys and bass particularly echo his licks and establishing the groove swaps between the musicians across all nine tracks.

The percussive start to Havens allows drums and bass to set down patterns that build beautifully as guitar and keys join in, while the gorgeous ballad feel of Night Shade takes the intensity down and Lage’s start to Ocala simply sings.

Throughout Scenes from Above, musical drive flits between the players until they all come together and the album finishes with a glorious chordal start to Something More allows Lage’s melody to soar above. Surprising and insistent rhythmic patterns add a tension that releases in the final concluding notes. Listen through once and then start again at the beginning to catch all the nuances of the quartet’s virtuosity.

You can watch the live video for Opal here and get your tickets to see Lage while he’s touring, including some May dates in Europe. Lage never fails to impress and these dates promise much to support the release of Scenes From Above.