On his new album Scenes from Above, guitarist Julian Lage engages a new quartet on a varied collection of tunes that finds him participating as an equal collaborator instead of leading from the helm.
A prodigy from Santa Rosa, Calif., Lage has a full, rich guitar tone that brings jazz vocabulary and improvisation, and a touch of twangy Americana, to the stately sounds of chamber music.
Lage started his career when he was still a teenager, joining vibraphone legend Gary Burton’s band on a pair of albums in the early 2000s. More recently, Lage teamed up with saxophonists Charles Lloyd and John Zorn, and on his 2024 album Speak to Me, fellow Californian and keyboardist Patrick Warren.
On Scenes from Above, Lage expands beyond the guitar-bass-drums trio format at the center of his past recordings by bringing in keyboard master John Medeski. Though Lage has worked with Medeski previously, the pair had never recorded together, as Lage has with the two other musicians featured, bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Kenny Wollesen.
All of the songs on the new record are original compositions by Lage, created with the interaction of these musicians specifically in mind. Together on Scenes from Above, the musicians play as peers, listening intently and responding to each other.
“My dream with composing, really, is to have something to talk about once we’re together," said Lage, in a press release.
The cooperative setting is immediately apparent with the album’s first song, “Opal.” Wollesen’s off-kilter rhythm sets the stage for Lage and Roeder’s melody and harmony lines, meanwhile Medeski lends subtle organ support and a steady sprinkle of piano notes.
The third track, “Talking Drum,” finds a groove reminiscent of the albums Medeski's done with his long-time band, Medeski Martin & Wood, and guitarist John Scofield. Lage plays a funky solo, the melody rising up like the sun behind stubborn clouds.
Most of the album’s songs run a concise four minutes or so, the exception being a seven-minute ballad called “Night Shade.” Lage brings the tempo way down for this lovely, bittersweet melody with Medeski’s gospel-tinged organ.
Jazz fans who long for loosely structured solo flights should focus on “Storyville.” Bookended by a strummed chordal theme on Lage’s acoustic guitar, Roeder’s bass solo rides atop Wollesen’s skittering drums as Medeski offers dancing improvisation on organ and piano.
Closing the album is the lovely “Something More,” a reverent, soulful guitar feature with solid, simple support from the rhythm section. The song balances many of the stylistic aspects heard on the previous eight songs, a conclusion that would be perfect—if it didn’t demand a repeat listen.
The focus on the conversation with his fellow musicians brings ample magic to Scenes from Above, another triumphant record from Lage. Lage brings his quartet, and this project, to Seattle's Moore Theatre on October 15, 2026.
