The Seasons | July

Julian Lage

Julian has the uncanny ability to balance musical openness and vulnerability with immense technique and control.  His playing is highly melodic and often, the difference between written composition and spontaneous creation gets blurred.

With most of the duets, the inspiration has been directly connected to the musical and technical language of the artist - the world they have created on their instrument or within their compositions. In Julian’s case, ideas for the piece came from many sources, both direct and indirect.  I was thinking about his solo etudes, an amazing series of pieces he wrote for guitar (click to watch).  I was also listening to his solo guitar album and considering its mood.  In a more general sense, I just imagined Julian playing and literally started to hear the piece. The composition was in a major key – for those who know Julian, I’m confident I am not alone in “hearing” him this way.

Though most of the duos were documented in performance venues, I thought it would be special to do this piece at Julian’s home and make it more personal. I always felt his place was a work of art in itself and a great reflection of his taste. On the day of the recording, there were thunderstorms throughout the city but miraculously things cleared up just before it was time to play.

I again want to give a huge thanks to Julian for sharing his artistry, and to Alex Chaloff and Steve Brickman for their beautiful camera work.