Julian Lage New Album Out Now; US Tour Starts in March

Guitarist Julian Lage's virtuosic new album, Speak To Me, is out today via Blue Note Records. To celebrate, he is sharing a live performance video of the title track, which is highlighted by a tricky corkscrew of a surf-rock theme.

Speak To Me was produced by Joe Henry and offers a series of dispatches from Lage's ongoing search for narrative beyond words. Intimate in tone and capacious in intention, the music travels a wide range of American music and delights in the deliberate crossing of wires between gospel hymn and rural blues, California singer-songwriter sunshine, and skronky jazz.

Speak To Me showcases the guitarist in a variety of settings, including solo acoustic, duo, his accustomed trio with bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King, and a larger ensemble with keys (from Kris Davis and Patrick Warren) and woodwinds (Levon Henry). It's Lage's fourth effort for Blue Note, and it's part of a torrent of creative activity that includes his participation in Charles Lloyd's Trio of Trios project and records with Terri Lynn Carrington, John Zorn, and Cautious Clay.

Speak To Me is out now on black vinyl, CD, and digital download, as well as an exclusive color vinyl variant including the bonus track “Cars/Colors” which is available on the Julian Lage Artist Store and the Blue Note Store.

The 13-track set of new Lage originals was first introduced in late 2023 with the release of its first song, “Omission,” a reverent tune imbued with a pastoral swing. In January, a 2-track single came out, pairing the hard-driving, bluesy “76” with the atmospheric acoustic ballad “As It Were.” In February, Lage shared the acoustic-guitar-based ballad “Nothing Happens Here." A video of this band performing “Nothing Happens Here” live at SFJAZZ on January 20, 2024, is streaming on YouTube.

“Throughout my life, I've always responded to music that has a narrative quality to it,” Lage says, explaining that he sees his recent compositions as less a departure than an extension of originals from previous albums, notably his 2021 Blue Note debut Squint. “I believe there is a kind of connective tissue that music has, and it's important, and it's fun to cultivate.”

When Joe Henry — the singer, songwriter, and producer responsible for landmark albums by Solomon Burke, Allen Toussaint, and many others — first heard Lage's songs in rough form he says he was immediately captivated by the challenge of the project:

“For me, it became ‘How can we make a record where Julian is improvising throughout, as is his gift, while we're also attending to the song?' Everything had to exist in service to the song form.”

Lage marvels at how Henry managed to shape the vibe of Speak To Me without speaking much at all.

“Ever so discreetly, he would guide things,” he says. “Joe holds a space for things to happen. Sometimes that means getting everyone out of the way or protecting the tune from someone getting in the way. It's like he had a forcefield around the project.”

Lage will kick off the full Speak to Me Tour in March 2024 with a run of U.S. shows followed by a tour of Europe. For complete details and ticket information, please visit www.julianlage.com/tour.

JULIAN LAGE – 2024 TOUR DATES

MARCH

March 16 – Higher Ground – Burlington, VT

March 17 – Narrows Center for the Arts – Fall River, MA

March 19 – Music Hall – Portsmouth, NH

March 20 – Ridgefield Playhouse – Ridgefield, CT

March 21 – Ardmore Music Hall – Ardmore, PA

March 22 – Town Hall – New York, NY

March 24 – Big Ears Festival – Knoxville, TN

March 26 – The Underground – Charlotte, NC

March 28 – Center Stage – Atlanta, GA

March 29 – Lincoln Theater – Raleigh, NC

March 30 – Lincoln Theater – Washington, DC

APRIL

April 11 – Nasjonal Jazzscene – Oslo, Norway

April 13 – Maison De Radio France – Paris, France

April 14 – De Roma – Antwerp, Belgium

April 16 – LantarenVenster – Rotterdam, Netherlands

April 17 – Bimhuis – Amsterdam, Netherlands

April 19 – Gretchen – Berlin, Germany

April 20 – Mojo – Hamburg, Germany

April 21 – Barbican – London, UK

April 23 – Wiener Konzerthaus – Vienna, Austria

April 24 – Jazzclub Unterfahrt – Munich, Germany

April 25 – Moods – Zurich, Switzerland

April 27 – L'Astrada – Marciac, France

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