Photo credit Bill Frisell (Monica Jane Frisell) and Julian Lage (Nathan West).
UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA) presents Bill Frisell and Julian Lage Duo on Thursday, December 5, 2019, at 8 p.m. at Royce Hall.
This meeting of the minds of two guitar masters, Bill Frisell and Julian Lage, promises to be a night to remember. Both acclaimed musicians have received enthusiastic recognition from the critical community, the listening public and awarding foundations. The consensus about Frisell and Lage is that they are both distinctive contemporary musical practitioners of the highest order.
Bill Frisell has been recognized as one of America’s 21 most visionary and prolific performing artists and was an inaugural Doris Duke Artist. In addition to a career that has spanned more than 40 years with 300 recordings, Frisell has been the guest curator for the Roots of Americana series at Jazz at Lincoln Center and resident artistic director at San Francisco Jazz. His instrument of choice— the Fender Telecaster guitar.
Guitar virtuoso, Julian Lage has proven his place in jazz with albums like Arclight and Modern Lore. A formidable musician, Lage has collaborated across jazz, folk, classical and country music including with CAP UCLA Alum Nels Cline. Lage’s instrument of choice, the guitar named after him due to in-depth conversations with Bill Collings— signature OM1 JL as part of the Collings’ T (Traditional) Series.
About Bill Frisell
Described as being at “the very epicenter of modern American Music” by the BBC, Bill Frisell’s career as a guitarist and composer has spanned more than 40 years and 300 recordings, including 50 celebrated albums of his own. Frisell’s output spans a wide range of musical expression – from interpretations of classic film and TV music to his involvement in the early downtown NY music scene: from original film scores to arrangements for extended ensembles with horns and strings; from visionary solo recordings to collaborations with Nashville musicians and singer-songwriters; from a collection of traditional American folk songs to a John Lennon tribute and trio albums—one with jazz legends Dave Holland and Elvin Jones, the other with Ron Carter and Paul Motian.
About Julian Lage
Hailed as one of the most prodigious guitarists of his generation and “highest category of improvising musicians” (New Yorker), Julian Lage has spent more than a decade searching through the myriad strains of American musical history via impeccable technique, free association and a spirit of infinite possibility. Though only 31, the California-born New York-based musician boasts a long, prolific résumé on his own accord in addition to sideman and duo partner (with Nels Cline, Chris Eldridge and Fred Hersch, among others.) Love Hurts – which marks Lage’s third Mack Avenue LP recorded with a trio, and his first to feature bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King (The Bad Plus) – sees the GRAMMY® nominated guitarist exploring the American song catalog from a truly unique vantage point, performing music written by a range of audacious and original artists, from Roy Orbison to Ornette Coleman, Jimmy Giuffre to Peter Ivers. Lage and his rhythm section build upon the wandering sonic outlook of his previous LPs, further impelling his defining amalgam of jazz fusion, jam band liberation, standards, and embryonic rock ‘n’ roll with virtuosic precision, adventurous improvisation, and a remarkably clear vision.
Tickets for these acclaimed musicians, starting at $28, are available now at cap.ucla.edu, 310-825-2101 and the Royce Hall box office.
CAP UCLA’s Root series continues with Toshi Reagan: Parable of the Sower (March 7, 2020, Royce Hall) and Perla Batalla: Discotella Batalla (April 18, 2020m The Theatre at Ace Hotel).

By Andrea Hammer

Andrea Karen Hammer is the founder, director and owner of Artsphoria Publishing, Media Group & Shop (https://www.artsphoria.org): Artsphoria International Magazine (https://www.artsphoria.com); Artsphoria Movie Reviews & Film Forum (https://www.artsphoria.us); Artsphoria: Arts, Business & Technology Center (https://www.artsphoria.biz); Artsphoria Event Advertising & Reporting (https://www.artsphoria.info); Artsphoria: Food for the Soul (https://artsphoria.live); Artsphoria Animation & Imagination World (https://www.artsphoria.net) and Artsphoria Shop (https://www.artsphoriashop.com). She is a freelance writer who has published articles in international publications.

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