Julian Lage : Speak To Me

Guitar virtuoso Julian Lage releases ‘Speak To Me’ – his vivid and wondrously textured album produced by Joe Henry, which offers a series of dispatches from his 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. The 13-track set of Lage originals is introduced with a 2-track single pairing the hard-driving, bluesy ’76’ with the atmospheric acoustic ballad ‘As It Were.’ The album also includes the previously released single ‘Omission,’ a reverent tune imbued with a pastoral swing. ‘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 keyboards (from Kris Davis and Patrick Warren) and wood