| Arclight | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Julian Lage | ||||
| Released | March 11, 2016 | |||
| Recorded | 2016 | |||
| Studio | Brooklyn Recording, New York | |||
| Genre | Jazz, jazz blues | |||
| Length | 36:45 | |||
| Label | Mack Avenue Records | |||
| Producer | Jesse Harris | |||
| Julian Lage chronology | ||||
| ||||
Arclight is the fourth solo album by American jazz guitarist Julian Lage. Two tracks were given a prerelease, "Nocturne" and "Harlem Blues". [1] [2]
Arclight was recorded on a Telecaster, [3] which is not generally considered to be a jazz guitar. Lage stated in an interview that "the electric guitar was always so fascinating to me, and my guitar heroes played it...Stevie Ray Vaughan...Clapton or whatnot—Muddy Waters." [3] While most of the tunes on the album are originals, there are several "pre-bebop" compositions, from "before things got kind of codified and slick and refined", in Lage's words. [3] Lage said he enjoyed such tunes mostly because of the chord changes, what he described as a "slippery approach to basically fundamental harmony". [3]
"Nocturne", one of the pre-release singles, was an old Spike Hughes composition. Lage said he liked this tune because "it starts on this minor chord, and...it's very hard to find...songs that weren't major, that weren't happy, that weren't just total dance music". [3]
According to Lage, the chord progression played on "Harlem Blues" (a W. C. Handy composition) was inspired by Willard Robison's chord changes for the song, slightly different from Handy's simpler progression. [3]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| All About Jazz (Troy Collins) |  |
| All About Jazz (Doug Collette) |  |
| The Irish Times |  |
Critical reception was generally positive. Troy Collins of All About Jazz called it a "brisk but bracing affair", [4] while Doug Collette of the same publisher noted "Lage proves himself not just a student of his instrument...but an exceedingly fast learner in the art of studio recording." [5] Collette praised producer Jesse Harris, saying "Harris deserves extra credit for the size and clarity of the recorded sound here because that introductory track arises from the speaker...with as much presence as magnitude." [5]
Irish Times critic Cormac Larkin said that the album had "echoes of Bill Frisell and particularly Jim Hall", [6] the latter being one of Lage's major influences. [3]
All compositions written by Julian Lage except where noted.
| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Jazz Albums [8] | 5 |
The term jazz guitar may refer to either a type of guitar or to the variety of guitar playing styles used in the various genres which are commonly termed "jazz". The jazz-type guitar was born as a result of using electric amplification to increase the volume of conventional acoustic guitars.
In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section ; and to provide all or part of the harmony, i.e. the chords from a song's chord progression, where a chord is a group of notes played together. Therefore, the basic technique of rhythm guitar is to hold down a series of chords with the fretting hand while strumming or fingerpicking rhythmically with the other hand. More developed rhythm techniques include arpeggios, damping, riffs, chord solos, and complex strums.
The twelve-bar blues is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly based on the I, IV, and V chords of a key.
In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice era of Classical music to the 21st century. Chord progressions are the foundation of Western popular music styles and traditional music. In these genres, chord progressions are the defining feature on which melody and rhythm are built.
Coltrane changes are a harmonic progression variation using substitute chords over common jazz chord progressions. These substitution patterns were first demonstrated by jazz musician John Coltrane on the albums Bags & Trane and Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago. Coltrane continued his explorations on the 1960 album Giant Steps and expanded on the substitution cycle in his compositions "Giant Steps" and "Countdown", the latter of which is a reharmonized version of Eddie Vinson's "Tune Up". The Coltrane changes are a standard advanced harmonic substitution used in jazz improvisation.
Jazz improvisation is the spontaneous invention of melodic solo lines or accompaniment parts. It is one of the defining elements of jazz. Improvisation is composing on the spot, when a singer or instrumentalist invents melodies and lines over a chord progression played by rhythm section instruments and accompanied by drums. Although blues, rock, and other genres use improvisation, it is done over relatively simple chord progressions which often remain in one key.
Julian Lage is an American guitarist and composer.
"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" is a jazz song written by Joe Zawinul in 1966 for Julian "Cannonball" Adderley and his album Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at 'The Club'. The song is the title track of the album and became a surprise hit. "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" went to #2 on the Soul chart and #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Kate Schutt is an American singer and songwriter who has released two albums No Love Lost and The Telephone Game.
This is a list of jazz and popular music terms that are likely to be encountered in printed popular music songbooks, fake books and vocal scores, big band scores, jazz, and rock concert reviews, and album liner notes. This glossary includes terms for musical instruments, playing or singing techniques, amplifiers, effects units, sound reinforcement equipment, and recording gear and techniques which are widely used in jazz and popular music. Most of the terms are in English, but in some cases, terms from other languages are encountered.
ReDiviDeR are a four-piece contemporary jazz ensemble based in Dublin, Ireland. The band consists of Matthew Jacobson (drums), Nick Roth (saxophone), Derek Whyte and Colm O'Hara (trombone). To date, ReDiviDeR have released two albums on Diatribe Records.
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Room is an album by guitarists Nels Cline and Julian Lage which was released in November 2014 on the Mack Avenue label.
Aziza is a studio album by English jazz bassist Dave Holland together with saxophonist Chris Potter, guitarist Lionel Loueke, and drummer Eric Harland. The album was released on October 14, 2016 via Holland's own Dare2 Records label.
The Meridian Suite is an album by jazz drummer Antonio Sánchez which was released by CAM Jazz in 2015.
Mount Royal is an album by guitarists Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge which was released by the Free Dirt label in 2017. The record was nominated for a Grammy in the "Best Contemporary Instrumental Album" category.
Guided Tour is a studio album by American jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton. The album was recorded in New York City together with guitarist Julian Lage, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Antonio Sanchez, and released on August 6, 2013 via Mack Avenue label. The record consists of 10 tracks, paying tribute to the legacies of Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Jim Hall, and Astor Piazzolla. Eight compositions were written by bandmembers.
Modern Lore is the fifth studio album by American jazz guitarist Julian Lage which was released in February 2018 by Mack Avenue Records.
Gladwell is an album by guitarist Julian Lage that was released in 2011 by the EmArcy label.