![]() ![]() In a certain dynamic, the same is true for my mother in every other capacity there. To this day, he's just such a clear and vivid part of my musical life, just as a friend and a mentor in a lot of ways. At a certain point, I think it became clear that I was heading on this path. I would take lessons, show him what I learned. ![]() He would take lessons, show me what he learned. ![]() In my early life my father and I shared the same trajectory. My parents were very protective and aware and hip to all that stuff. I think with a lot of young people who show signs of being good at something, there can be a tendency to inadvertently exploit and pressure the young person, get them involved with adults who may not have their best interests at heart, but see how the young person can help the adults' mission. Anyway, when I was coming up, I think he saw my interest in music, which stemmed from his interest in music, and both he and my mother sought to cultivate a healthy journey for me. As a young boy, he had a one man show as a 12-year-old in California. My father growing up, he was a visual artist. Oh, by the way, there is a film about Julian called Jules at Eight. Him as an adult, me as a five-year-old.ĭid everyone hear what he said? Five years old. And, out of the family, I was kind of the only one who had a propensity for music and frankly, my dad started playing guitar at the same time I did. I grew up in Santa Rosa, California, about an hour north of San Francisco. ![]() My father Mario, but both my parents truly. The first one, clearly, is your father Mario. So today we're going to ask you about people in your life. I know that you would prefer not to talk just about yourself, but rather about other people. Lee Mergner: I don't know you real well, but I've known you since you were a kid, as many people have. The results spoke volumes about the effect of both elders and peers in his own creative growth. Knowing his sincere humility, almost in inverse proportion to his talents, I decided to use the people in his life as prompts to talk about his life and music. In a conversation in front of a live audience during the Blue Note at Sea cruise, I spoke with Julian about his path as an artist. The recording is a prequel of sorts to View with the Room, released last year on Blue Note, because it came from the same recording session produced by Margaret Glaspy, his wife and musical partner (and an accomplished singer-songwriter herself). His latest album, The Layers, features Julian with his trio of Jorge Roeder on bass and Dave King on drums. Mentored by Gary Burton, Jim Hall and others, Lage evolved into one of the music’s true innovators, while also being comfortable in the world of Americana, acoustic music and indie-rock. Nonetheless, he was the subject of a short documentary, Jules at Eight, which chronicled his unusual gifts at such a young age. Julian Lage ,who started playing guitar at the age of five, was fortunate enough not only to have supportive but non-pressuring parents, but also to have come along before the internet and social media would make it impossible to develop away from intense public scrutiny. Now a 20-year-old, his future remains bright, but not necessarily clear. Most recently, Joey Alexander astounded jazz fans and cognoscenti with his incredible chops as a pre-teen. Or a software engineer like pianist Sergio Salvatore. Maybe they go on to become educators like saxophonist Christopher Hollyday. It doesn’t mean that they stop playing music, but that they may choose to focus on a different but related profession. While others plateau, at least in terms of their profile in the jazz community. Some go on to become major forces in the music like Christian McBride and Roy Hargrove. Young people who show remarkable facility and creativity beyond their years. Jazz has seen its fair share of prodigies. ![]()
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