Julian Lage
Gladwell
Emarcy Records
www.julianlage.com

Lou Volpe
Hear and Now
Jazz Guitar Records
www.louvolpejazz.com

Django Reinhardt
The Essential Django Reinhardt
RCA/Legacy
www.sonymusic.com
By George W. Harris

Here are three releases, not only representing the past, present and
future of jazz guitar, but demonstrating that certain styles and sounds
never grow old, only better.

Young squire Julian Lage made a name for himself by playing some eye
popping stuff with Carlos Santana, Martin Taylor and David Grisman the
past few years. He put out an impressive debut disc (Sounding Point)a
couple of years ago, which was not bad at all. His second time around,
in support of an upcoming tour, he joins with an eccentric band that
includes cello (Aristides Rivas)j, percussion (Tupac Mantilla), bass
(Jorge Roeder) and sax (Dan Blake)through some wonderfully elliptical
tunes, both standard and original. There are some wonderful solo pieces
(which include some clever multi-tacking ) like “Cathedral” and “Point
the Way” that show an impressive mix of fingerwork and mental
dexterity. The group pieces like “233 Butler” have a quirky sense of
swing, mixing Hot Club Of France through a 21st century prism, with
Lage’s stylings ranging from Reinhardt to Frisell. A fresh and broad
palate of colors that relentlessly swings.

Veteran sideman Lou Volpe has played with them all, from Hancock and
Baker in the jazz category, to Minnelli and Midler in the pop side of
things. He’s got blue collar working man’s sensibilities, able to get
gritty and modal (“Coltrane of Though”) as well as mainstream (“One For
Wes”). A nice, clean style of picking is noted on the title track and
“Blue Boppa.” The rhythm team of Onaje Allan Gumbs/p, Bob Cranshaw/b
and Buddy Williams/dr is spot on, cooking like simmering pasta sauce on
“Softly As In A Morning Sunrise” or on the deft and bluesy “Astral
Island.” Stuff this impressive makes you wonder why you haven’t heard
more from this under the radar six stringer. Keep it coming!

Having written all that, the fact of the matter is, you need to wait
before making any of those purchases if you don’t have anything yet by
the wonderful gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt, as he is the one that
all other guitarists are ultimately compared to. This sumptuous 2 cd
set is an excellent place to begin, as it includes Reinhardt in his two
favorite settings; teamed with violinist Stefane Grappelli (in a 1949
Roman studio) and with alto sax clarinetist Andre Ekyan (ditto). Like
Sinatra and Riddle, Montana and Rice, Gleason and Carney or Taylor and
Burton, some pairs were just meant to be, and Grappelli/Reinhardt
simply brought out the best in each other, creating a team for the
ages. The romance of “Beyond The Sea” just exudes life, while “Swing
42” captures the essence of joyful syncopation. No one could swing
faster than Reinhardt, and yet, his most famous tune is the
impressionistic ballad “Nuages” that aurally captures everything right
about Bohemian France. This was the first jazz I ever heard as a kid,
and it turned me away from rock to jazz, and I’m a better person for it.