| Modern Lore | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 2, 2018 | |||
| Studio | Reservoir Studios, New York, NY | |||
| Length | 42:37 | |||
| Label | Mack Avenue | |||
| Producer | Jesse Harris | |||
| Julian Lage chronology | ||||
| ||||
Modern Lore is the fifth studio album by American jazz guitarist Julian Lage which was released in February 2018 by Mack Avenue Records. [1]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 81/100 [2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| All About Jazz |  |
| All About Jazz | |
| Paste Magazine | 8.1/10 [6] |
| Tom Hull | B [7] |
Response was positive, with Metacritic assigning the album an aggregate score of 81 out of 100 based on 4 critical reviews indicating "Universal acclaim". [2]
The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek stated "It's simply instrumental, Americana-tinged rock with a smattering of jazz improvisation and other exotic touches woven in ... This is Lage and his trio playing for themselves and obviously enjoying it; they create an easy intimacy and offer a warm welcome for listeners. The music here is not only solid, but attractive and clever to boot". [3]
On All About Jazz, Gareth Thompson's review enthused "Modern Lore seeks out the very foundations of rock music and digs deep ... Tagging this collection as some kind of 'jazz-rock' outing would be simplistic and gruff. For sure it moves Lage into new arenas, but when did he ever remain static? Modern Lore is a perfect paean to the electric guitar and all its sensual traditions". [4] On the same site Doug Collette said "Modern Lore constitutes a measure of guitarist Julian Lage's grasp of the pragmatic values of a working musician ... The uniformity within this record is comparable to the last in terms of both conception and execution. Yet Modern Lore isn't merely more of the same as the last record ... Although he's never merely workmanlike in his playing or writing (he composed all the material on the album), Julian Lage is too understated a musician/composer to literally grab attention. Rather, he entices a listener with the warm incisive fingerwork ... this music, as with the entire body of work by the guitarist to whom it's credited, holds the potential for consistently rewarding listening over an unusually extended period of time". [5]
Paste reviewer Robert Ham observed "the result is a snappy, multi-colored affair that gives him ample room to show off his unmatched skills with his chosen instrument. For much of the album, Lage looks for ways to expand upon the mode of the country picker ... Elsewhere on the album, he and his band write songs that feel like adult contemporary pop hits just waiting for a vocalist to help take them to the charts ... Modern Lore even drops a little experimental number in the mix. But just a little ...but it’s also what helps turn Modern Lore from a good album into something closer to great. The comfort that Lage and his bandmates evince needs those small shakeups to keep from devolving into something pleasant but unengaging. The trio toes that line at times on this new release without completely falling into pure background fodder. It’s a delicate balance that only the best players could attain. Time will tell if they can maintain it [6]
NPR's Nate Chinen noted "this one feels loose and unburdened. It's the strongest album of Lage's career so far, and the first that fully captures his trademark melding of fleet precision, open-road possibility and radiant self-assurance. If that sounds like a distinctly American set of qualities, so be it: Lage is a distinctly American sort of artist. His musical persona draws from the expansive jazz continuum (ragtime to bebop and beyond) as well as rustic folk music and the blues. And because this trio features him on a Fender Telecaster, the countrified side of his playing often shines through". [8]
In JazzTimes Natalie Weiner wrote "Lage’s 11 original compositions abstract some of the most iconic sounds in American music, with hints of rock, country and folk all coming through in his warm, intimate tone ... That is not to say the cozy result lacks urgency. Lage’s virtuosity manifests in precise, clear improvisation that doesn’t require technical fireworks, spotlighting instead his remarkable gift for melody. In the few moments when his experimental side comes through, though, it’s clear how important dissonance and dynamics are to tempering the album’s generally gentle, whimsical sound". [9]
All compositions by Julian Lage
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Ramble" | 3:56 |
| 2. | "Atlantic Limited" | 3:51 |
| 3. | "General Thunder" | 5:25 |
| 4. | "Roger the Dodger" | 4:12 |
| 5. | "Wordsmith" | 4:01 |
| 6. | "Splendor Riot" | 3:56 |
| 7. | "Revelry" | 3:31 |
| 8. | "Look Book" | 3:01 |
| 9. | "Whatever You Say, Henry" | 4:11 |
| 10. | "Earth Science" | 2:15 |
| 11. | "Pantheon" | 4:18 |
Julian Lage is an American guitarist and composer.
Mary Halvorson is an American avant-garde jazz guitarist from Brookline, Massachusetts.
The Door is the debut studio album by Norwegian trumpeter, composer and multi-instrumentalist Mathias Eick recorded in 2007 and released on August 19, 2008 by the ECM label. The album consists of eight weightlessly lyrical compositions, all originals.
Everybody's Talkin' is the second album and the first live album by the 11-piece Tedeschi Trucks Band and was released in 2012 by Sony Masterworks. It's been released as a 2-CD set as well as a three disc vinyl set. The title comes from the song carrying the same name, formerly a hit for Harry Nilsson. The band's cover is a hybrid of the Nilsson and Bill Withers versions.
Tap: Book of Angels Volume 20 is an album by guitarist Pat Metheny performing compositions from John Zorn's Masada Book Two. The album was released simultaneously on Tzadik Records and Nonesuch Records. Though Zorn and Metheny are of similar age and both came to prominence in the late 1970s and have long admired each other's music, Tap is the first collaboration between the artists.
Trios is an album by American composer and pianist Carla Bley with saxophonist Andy Sheppard and bass guitarist Steve Swallow released on the ECM label. This the first occasion these longtime collaborators had worked as a trio since 1994's Songs with Legs.
Beautiful Dreamers is an album by Bill Frisell which was released on the Savoy label in 2010.
Tirtha is an album by pianist Vijay Iyer with Prasanna and Nitin Mitta recorded in 2008 and released on the ACT label in 2011.
Arclight is the fourth solo album by American jazz guitarist Julian Lage. Two tracks were given a prerelease, "Nocturne" and "Harlem Blues".
Room is an album by guitarists Nels Cline and Julian Lage which was released in November 2014 on the Mack Avenue label.
Sweatshop is an album by American jazz guitarist Joe Morris released in 1990 on his own Riti label. It features a trio with Jerome Deupree, who was the original drummer in the rock band Morphine, and bassist Sebastian Steinberg. It was the first part of what Morris calls "Big Loud Electric Guitar" experiments, a mix of funk, rock, noise and collective improvisation.
Lágrimas Mexicanas is an album by guitarists Vinicius Cantuária and Bill Frisell which was released on the French Naïve label.
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.
Currents, Constellations is an album by The Nels Cline 4 that was released in April 2018 by the Blue Note label.
Love Hurts is an album by guitarist Julian Lage that was released in February 2019 by the Mack Avenue label.
Free Flying is live album by pianist Fred Hersch and guitarist Julian Lage which was recorded in New York in 2013 and released by the Palmetto label.
Gladwell is an album by guitarist Julian Lage that was released in 2011 by the EmArcy label.
Body is an album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks first released on the Fish of Milk label in 2018 in Australia and on the Northern Spy label in the US.
Vertigo is an album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks first released on the Fish of Milk label in 2015 in Australia, on ReR Megacorp in Europe, and on the Northern Spy label in the US.
8: Kindred Spirits is a 2020 live album by American jazz saxophonist Charles Lloyd. The album was released on 28 February 2020 on Blue Note Records to positive critical reviews.