You want to hear the joy of music, dazzlingly played? Check out these two solo etudes by Julian Lage, whom I post about pretty regularly because we all need to touch brilliance every now and then.
Guitar Etude No. 1 - maybe 2 1/2 minutes. Very “Etude” sounding, i.e. kinda old-school Bach-y. It’s wild that, while he does fingerpick, he’s executing criss-crossing melodic lines with just a flatpick. Just amazing mechanics.
I wish I knew why I love this sonic landscape of rapid-fire notes, while I find most shredding to be just typing. When he gets so deep into the music, and his eyes roll up a bit into his head, you know this is just direct-channel wiring.
Guitar Etude No. 3 - maybe 4 minutes. Holy shit. One of the best solo pieces I have ever seen. Nothing old-school about it - starts off with a quasi-Brazilian feel, but then he adds an off-time low-string melodic line. It sounds weird and fun as you wrap your brain around it, in a Take Five-y sorta way, but the technical execution just boggles. And the piece evolves from there, incorporating all sorts of master-class techniques, harmonic constructions and overall musicality.
Lage, bassist and drummer playing straight-up small combo jazz and just so damn good. Julian got an original Blackguard Tele, i.e., a first-gen, early 50’s Fender Telecaster. Doesn’t get any more elemental, solidbody-wise. Listen to him with the Tone rolled off, delivering jazz with glimpses of overdrive that only a Tele can deliver.
Saw this with Jorge Roeder instead of Colley. Lage played and sounded very differently than other times I’ve seen him. That Tele gave the whole thing a rock-y feel, which Julian’s playing promoted. Reminded me a bit of Larry Coryell back in his Twelfth House days. He is on a musical journey… ever evolving. It’s cool.
I’ve heard of him. One of the more musical of the poppy-slappy players on the Candyrat record label. Fun to watch. Not as…harmonically rich as Hedges? He was just transcendent.
I hope this isn’t a hijack. If it is, just ignore me.
I think y’all would also like Tommy Emmanuel. I saw him in person a few years ago and have seen him on TV since. He is fabulous. Some samples:
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By the way, not sure if non-players care about this stuff, but Tommy Emmanuel is famously a CGP, a Certified Guitar Player.
Chet Atkins, supremely talented and arrogant about his talent, bequeathed this designation to a small handful of players. It is still held in very high regard as a designation - players like Mark Knopfler, Vince Gill, Brian Setzer, etc. are held up as the CGPs of today. I haven’t heard it discussed about Julian Lage, but he would qualify easily
Tommy’s legacy of being named a CGP by Atkins is the equivalent of a mic drop to us guitarists. If Chet said Tommy was a CGP, who the heck are we mere mortals to question that?!
