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Listen In As Julian Lage Shares His Early Guitar Heroes, and Plays Tunes From 'Modern Lore'

Chris Tobin
Julian Lage with WBGO's Simon Rentner

Since Julian Lage focused his attentions on a Fender Telecaster a couple of years ago, his music has become more country, more sparse, and arguably more soulful. Lage recently brought his trio onto Morning Jazz to talk about that shift, and play a few tunes from his newest album, Modern Lore.

During our conversation, Lage unpacked some of his earliest influences, from before jazz came into the picture — from Bruce Springsteen to Bo Diddley to Little Richard.

He admitted that his focus took a dramatic turn from rock toward jazz while in high school, when he got serious about his playing. Now more fully formed, Lage has allowed himself to rediscover his roots, exploring that broader spectrum of Americana on Modern Lore

I also got Lage to tell some of his favorite untold stories from his mentors Gary Burton, John Zorn, and the late Jim Hall. Listen above, and watch the guitarist perform an original composition, "Pantheon," in our studio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84pLvt0SSkI

Lage performs at Bill Frisell's Guitar Invitational with Frisell, Marvin Sewell, Brandon Ross, and Matt Munisteri on Thursday at Le Poission Rouge.

Julian Lage, guitar
Jorge Roeder, bass
Eric Doob, drums

Video: Chris Tobin
Music Mix: David Tallacksen
Producer: Simon Rentner

For more than 15 years, Simon Rentner has worked as a host, producer, broadcaster, web journalist, and music presenter in New York City. His career gives him the opportunity to cover a wide spectrum of topics including, history, culture, and, most importantly, his true passion of music from faraway places such as Europe, South America, and Africa.