Old Soul - Julian Lage Interview at Virtual Wooshed

Interview by Russ Hanchin
Story by Brian Williams

IN THE SPRING OF 1961, Blue Note Records released Grant Green’s debut effort as a bandleader [Green Street, BLP 4071]. Of that landmark recording, Leonard Feather remarked "the quality and quantity of new talent that has emerged in modern jazz during the past few years has placed so many critics in a curious predicament. Superlative piled on superlative can build a dangerously precipitous mountain. After you have hailed the most brilliant new this and the most remarkable new that, what words do you have left when a Grant Green comes along?" If this scenario sounds familiar, it is because history is repeating itself. You may ask, how can we be nearly fifty years removed from that iconic statement and find ourselves yet again in the same predicament? Shouldn’t it all have been done by now? From the primitive technique of Nick Lucas to the melodic brilliance of Wes Montgomery to the sheer loudness of John McLaughlin, what remains unsaid? The answer may come from the unlikeliest of places.

MEET NON-CONFORMIST, Julian Lage. Though he is commonly seen in public with his Manzer archtop, Julian actually feels most at home on a Martin D-18, a guitar most often associated with Bluegrass music. On his electric guitars, he plays roundwound strings, instead of the normal flatwounds. He plays Fender tube amps instead of the Polytone solid state combos favored by most jazzers. Where most of his contemporaries play delicately, Julian’s approach is decidedly less subtle. In fact, in one way or another Julian Lage eschews almost everything that is part of the normal jazz protocol and yet here he is, slated to be next torch bearer of the jazz guitar legacy: a weighty responsibility for a twenty-two year old. But heavy, self imposed responsibilities are nothing new for the former child prodigy. He’s been pushing (some may say torturing) himself since he was a very small boy. While most kids were playing with Transformers, young Jules was "obsessing over sight reading." When his peers were climbing monkey bars, Julian was receiving a world class education at the knee of David Grisman, Pat Metheny, Bela Fleck, Doc Watson and other luminaries. And what he has accomplished in his twenty two years is (apologies to Leonard Feather) nothing short of brilliant and remarkable. To understand how he did this, you first need to understand a few things about the man.

YOU GET THE SENSE when listening to him talk that Julian knows something that most other modern jazz musicians don’t. And that ’something’ is not readily apparent at first. But as you listen it becomes more and more obvious: he has no perceivable ego. There is no pretense about him whatsoever. Refreshingly, Lage is just as willing to learn something from old time guitarist Norman Blake as he is from Larry Coryell or Jim Hall. And while most jazz musicians would have you believe they are open minded, Julian Lage is actually living it. He represents the true open minded experimentation that jazz should be about and he is reaping the benefits. Take his right hand for instance. With very few exceptions, the average jazz guitarist’s right hand has become, you’ll excuse the expression, their Achilles heel. As guitars have become easier and easier to play over the years, many electric guitarists have lost any semblance of power in their pick attack. But Julian learned at a tender age the value of playing Appalachian fiddle tunes on an old flat top Martin, a lesson he no doubt picked up via early exposure to David Grisman and Tony Rice. This strenuous style of picking will develop a startling right hand technique and Julian is keenly aware of his technical advantage. Referring to his custom made Linda Manzer guitar Lage says “the jazz guys all play [it] very delicate[ly], but the way it sounds the best is when you hand that guitar to a Bluegrass guy! They know how to play it, and it’s built for that, you just gotta hit it, you know?” And hit it he does.

IT’S IMMEDIATELY OBVIOUS that Julian loves Bluegrass music. When asked about living in Boston, one of his first comments is “the Bluegrass scene is insane!” But he’s also spent years studying classical piano. He has a love for Indian folk music, Brazilian Choro and numerous other eclectic genres. In fact, one can get so caught up in the diversity of Julian’s background, it may be easy to overlook the fact that this guy is first and foremost a monster jazz guitarist. For all his varied tastes, let’s not forget that Lage has primarily studied the jazz idiom for about 75% of his life. From the chunky, swinging chords of Freddie Green to the esoteric outside playing of John Abercrombie, Julian is at least familiar with if not a complete master of nearly every style within the genre. And while most purists would probably not consider him a bebop player, Lage has obviously digested and internalized a strong love for the practitioners of bop music. The decision to sidestep bop was not due to a lack of ability, but rather a desire to push the boundaries of what is considered acceptable within the jazz community. Referring to this Lage says “if you’re going to show that side of more technical virtuosity, let’s not do it with jazz. But let’s do it with this new breed of acoustic chamber music.” It is almost inconceivable that a player so young has already arrived at the point in his career where he feels compelled to adopt this mentality. But Julian is certainly not ignorant to his plight. In fact he is quick to point out the challenges of seizing and maintaining an audience’s attention: “if you’re not doing it in a tradition that’s proven, like say, playing jazz standards, then there’s a lot of stuff to figure out.”

THERE’S A SCENE in Frank Capra’s “It’s A Wonderful Life” where George Bailey and his father are playfully sneering at George’s younger brother’s sophomoric behavior. After George points out that there isn’t that much age difference between the two brothers, the senior Bailey says “George, you were born older.” And that certainly seems to be the case with Julian Lage. At twenty-two, most young adults are looking for the next party or maybe trying to finish their college education. In any event, they have likely not felt the heavy burden of adult responsibilities in their brief lives. But Julian Lage is indeed an Old Soul; a remarkably mature young man with adult sensibilities guiding his decision making. Perhaps the pinnacle of Julian’s interview is where he paraphrases Jim Hall: “my friend was talking about Jim and he said ‘you know Jim treats other [musicians] like we’re all working for the same company.’ And he meant, it doesn’t really matter how good you are, or what level you’re on, we all signed up for the same job. And what comes with that is a lot of respect for each other. So you think, wow, of all the people in the world, this person decided to make this [music] his life as well…We’re all in this together, there’s no one better, there’s no one worse, and we just need to enjoy that.” There are many professional musicians who have gone to the graves without learning that art is not a race.

This month, our featured artist here at Virtualwoodshed.com is a special one indeed. Musicians like Julian Lage probably only come along once in a generation or so. Longtime friend of the ‘Shed and occasional contributor Russ Hanchin handled the interview duties with Julian, and being a formidable jazz guitarist himself, Russ was in a position to ask all the right questions. We hope you’ll enjoy our offering this month. If you care to, please drop us a line and let us know what you think.

Russ Hanchin: How long have you been living in Boston?

Julian Lage: I think about four years. I moved out here from Northern California, the Bay area.

Russ Hanchin: So the winters out here were a bit of a shock?

Julian Lage: I’ve got a few Boston winters under my belt now, but you know that first cold day really catches you off guard!

Russ Hanchin: Well Boston seems to make sense for you in terms of it’s cultural advancement.

Julian Lage: You’re right, you’re right. I think there’s more diversity in music and personalities here right now, maybe than any other time. It’s a very cool time to be a musician living in Boston. I mean, it’s always been great because of the schools and Berklee, but now that I’m actually here… I mean, the Bluegrass scene is insane! The jazz scene is great, and you’re close to New York, I’m there a lot.

Russ Hanchin: So you’re pretty settled in now that you’ve lived there four years?

Julian Lage: Yeah. I’ve lived in the same apartment all four years. I teach out of it! Mick Goodrick used to live on my street for like thirty years.

Russ Hanchin: Cool. I took a few lessons from Mick while I was up there.

Julian Lage: Oh you did?! Oh man, what a master.

Russ Hanchin: It was spiritual! So anyway, your bio is fairly well documented, how you started at an outrageously early age, and then developed into quite an artist through the nurturing of a lot of people. So I don’t want to rehash all that here, but I am curious about your David Grisman connection. That duo that you recorded with him a few years back [Old Souls, Dawg Duos, Acoustic Disc] is a wonderful piece of music. Were you ten when you recorded that?

Julian Lage: I think so. I might have been eleven.

Russ Hanchin: It’s such a sensitive, beautiful piece of music. It speaks volumes for your development at such an early age. Can you talk a little bit about how you connected with David and how that collaboration came about?

Julian Lage: Absolutely. I met David when I was ten. In the Bay Area, they have a big guitar show maybe once or twice a year, in Marin actually. I went with my Dad and we were looking at guitars. Anyway, there was this word buzzing around the floor that Grisman was [at the show]. I had known about him but had never interacted with him. So, somebody went and found him and said, "hey, I want you two to meet" and we sat down there and played for something like two and half hours! [laughs] He was calling tunes and you know I wasn’t raised with a Bluegrass background up until that point. And the cool thing about Dawg is that he’s fascinated by the jazz language and that seems to color all his compositions. So he can easily say, "oh check out this song I wrote, or this song" and it’s like this universal jazz-acoustic language. I just love it, you know?

Russ Hanchin: It’s amazing that if you don’t have anything else in common with somebody, but you are both musicians, there is this language that you connect on; even in light of things like age difference.

Julian Lage: Exactly. The age thing didn’t matter all that much. So anyway, that was the first meeting, and Dawg was so nurturing and we spent a lot of time together. I would go over his house and play all the [vintage Gibson] Lloyd Loar mandolins and all the old acoustic guitars. We fostered a really great relationship. Another thing, he would take me and my dad out to all these shows when folks would come to town. If Bela [Fleck] was in town, we’d go and play backstage with him. And I remember going with him to see Doc Watson as a kid, and we played with Doc backstage. It was pretty special and I’m so lucky that I got to be there for that.

Russ Hanchin: So then David eventually asked you to contribute a song on the Dawg Duos CD?

Julian Lage: Yes. You know that record was a compilation of many years of recording. So he came to us and said, "I want to finish [that record] with a piece that’s in the present." So we put it together and it was kind of nice.

Russ Hanchin: Was that a first take?

Julian Lage: It was a full day of recording, if I can remember. I think we kind of wrote it as we recorded it! [laughs] We’d do one part together and then say "oh what about this?!" It’s funny, because I just played a show the other night in Boston with [multi-instrumental virtuoso] Mark O’Connor. And John Magann was there, who is a professor at Berklee who plays octave mandolin, and mandolin and guitar. Anyway, John had transcribed that song you are talking about when it came out and I never knew it. I always wanted to play it again! [laughs] John had just stumbled across an old email from 1999 where Grisman said "hey John, I just recorded with this kid and I’d love for you to transcribe this piece for us", so I want to get my hands on that transcription.

Russ Hanchin: You mentioned the Berklee professor. Are you becoming involved with the faculty there?

Julian Lage: Ah, I’m not really involved as a teacher there. But I teach out of my house and if people come to town and want to hang out and do lessons, I love to do it. And I’m not completely graduated from Berklee yet. I’ve got some general education classes yet to go. Once I finish those, I guess I’ll be a "Berklee Graduate" and the thought of teaching there is really appealing.

Russ Hanchin: Cool. Hey, can we talk about your new CD? [Sounding Point, 2009, Julian Lage Productions] Well actually I guess it’s not that new anymore…

Julian Lage: Yeah, it’s getting older by the minute! [laughs]

Russ Hanchin: So it was released last spring [2009] right?

Julian Lage: Yep. And we recorded it maybe a year before that.

Russ Hanchin: One thing that struck me about that record is that the diversity is just amazing. It really goes from some jazz takes to bluegrass influenced material, to almost chamber music, which I love.

Julian Lage: Oh cool! Yeah it’s great that you heard all that, cause that’s definitely what we were going for.

Russ Hanchin: You know, sometimes you can listen to a lot of players and after you’ve heard three or four cuts, you think, "alright, I know what this person is about", but every song on your record provides some new interest. Could you talk a little bit about the compositions and the personnel on the recording?

Julian Lage: Yeah, well I set out to make a first record about four years ago. And I had purposefully put it off for my whole lifetime up until recently because I’ve just been fascinated by so many different kinds of music, whether it be the Grisman stuff, jazz stuff, the classical compositions, everything man. Indian classical stuff is great. So I had a sense that the only reason I would make a record would be to act as a conduit for all these styles and people. So I came to Boston and I started a band. It started with a saxophonist, then I met the bassist, then I met the drummer, then I met the cellist, and that was the core band for the record.

Russ Hanchin: So had you written the material up front, or did you write a lot of it with these people in mind?

Julian Lage: When we recorded that record, the band had been together maybe a month and a half, which is not very long! [laughs] And even though I had had relationships with some of these musicians for years beforehand, my intention was to say, "OK, I want this record to be a platform to showcase the music that I love to listen to." So I spent a lot of time focusing on people’s strengths, for example with the cello, I was drawn to the lyricism, the romantic quality, the sound is just so great. So I took [an idea for a piece of] music and said, "OK, how can I rewrite this, or write this so that it honors these qualities".

Russ Hanchin: Man, that is a very "giving" kind of approach to the music. I mean, it’s your first CD and you’re looking to nurture and honor all these other players! That’s pretty selfless.

Julian Lage: Thanks. Well, it’s a dicey [approach]. ‘Cause that can easily fall into the category of "hiding". You know, it’s like saying in a subtle way that you’re not really ready to make a record! That happens with all-star debut records sometimes. You have an artist who is great and very talented, but they are very young and they end up giving the spotlight to other people. But I suppose what I was starting to recognize was that, that was the strength I wanted to show as a guitar player. I wanted to set a platform where…you don’t know what to expect. I knew I wanted guests, I knew I wanted to feature people who had been a part of my life, but I wanted to do that through the acoustic music scene. That’s why Chris [Thile - mandolinist] and Bela [Fleck - banjoist] are on it. ‘Cause if you’re going to show that side of more technical virtuosity, let’s not do it with jazz. But let’s do it with this new breed of acoustic chamber music which is becoming so huge. And it started with David Grisman! I mean that was the DGQ [David Grisman Quintet] in the 70’s. So it’s funny in retrospect as I hear the record because I’m following the path of my teachers: Grisman came out of the gate with his own music. You look at Gary Burton, he came out of the gate with a unique band. He had Larry Coryell and he was doing fusion, kind of rock and jazz. And so to me it didn’t feel that new or different. I mean, that’s why you make records, to do these kinds of things!

Russ Hanchin: Of course! The logic is right there, come on! [laughs] And there is plenty to do within that vision.

Julian Lage: Oh, it’s infinite. That’s the best part. And it’s a real challenge because you can’t look around at any one person and say, "OK, I’m going to do what Jim Hall did, or I’m going to do what Metheny did." That’s one of the hardest things… well, I say "hard" but what I mean is, that’s one of the coolest things about starting a band and trying to write new music. Because you have to figure out every element for yourself. How do you get the audience’s attention in the first five minutes? How do you maintain their attention for ninety minutes? And if you’re not doing it in a tradition that’s proven, like say, playing jazz standards or whatever, then there’s a lot of stuff to figure out. I’m certainly up for the challenge, but I’m every day thinking about it.

Russ Hanchin: Since the CD was released, has your main focus been touring?

Julian Lage: Completely. And writing. That’s been the main focus of my time.

Russ Hanchin: So you’re already planning for the next one?

Julian Lage: Yes, very much. We’re excited. The next record will most likely be focused on the group. The first record was kind of a portfolio, where the one thing consistent with all these configurations is Jules! And that served it’s purpose. But now we’re going to take it compositionally to a much richer level utilizing cello, etc.

Russ Hanchin: Speaking of the cello, is your touring group the same players who were on the record? Or at least the same instrumentation?

Julian Lage: Well it’s definitely the same instrumentation and it has been the exact same players, with the exception that we will be playing with a new saxophone player in the upcoming year. Yeah, it’s been great, so fun, so inspiring, but I’ve got a lot of work to do! [laughs]

Russ Hanchin: Do you do most of your writing by yourself, or with an ensemble?

Julian Lage: You know, I start it by myself most of the time, and then I try to write with these players in mind specifically. Well, I say I start it by myself, but then I hear something on the cello and say "whoa! I’ve never heard that technique, how do you do that?!" And I’ll think, OK, we need a piece that features that. It’s especially true of our percussionist, because he’s full of creative textures and sounds that we need to spotlight. Yeah, I usually write on the guitar, too.

Russ Hanchin: I was going to ask about that. So you favor writing on the guitar?

Julian Lage: Yes, well, writing on the piano is kind of the way to go usually, but umm…

Russ Hanchin: Are you fluent in piano?

Julian Lage: Uh, no. I should be because I studied at Berklee for two years as a classical pianist. But you know I’ve kind of felt a little conflicted because a keyboard instrument is way more conducive to multiple voices, seeing it all laid out. But then I talked to Mick Goodrick a couple years ago and he said the only way the guitar is going to evolve is if you force it to be a composition teacher. So how [would] I play four parts on the guitar simultaneously? Oh, it’s do-able, but…I kind of use composing on the guitar as a means of becoming a better guitar player and to write stuff that wouldn’t be obvious on a piano.

Russ Hanchin: Stuff to confound piano players?! [laughs]

Julian Lage: Exactly! [laughs]

Russ Hanchin: That’s interesting. Because a piano player who doesn’t know guitar may write a voicing that you’d have to have nine inch long fingers to play.

Julian Lage: Exactly. And I saw that in the Bluegrass community where there are banjo songs, fiddle tunes, mandolin tunes. Definitely guitar feature stuff, like your old Norman Blake and Tony Rice stuff, that could only be written on a guitar, no question! It’s pretty powerful stuff.

Russ Hanchin: Absolutely. So when you’re writing, do you think of melody or harmony first? Or do you lay a foundation of chords?

Julian Lage: Often it’s actually melody first. I hear things as monophonic melodies most of the time. Like "oh, that’s a nice line, now how can I harmonize that?"

Russ Hanchin: That makes sense after listening to your music because you really do have a pronounced lyricism. I mean the melody is really important and you seem to handle it with tender loving care.

Julian Lage: Ha ha! [laughs] That’s a really cool way to put it! It’s a real challenge as a writer cause I’m trying to come to terms with the fact that, in jazz anyway, chords and melodies are stackable. They’re kind of like building blocks. Whereas in classical symphonic tradition, every voice adds up to a harmony. So in a string quartet, four single lines equals one chord.

Russ Hanchin: Yeah, it’s more like Ellington’s line writing where the chords reveal themselves but everybody’s got an important line.

Julian Lage: The chords reveal themselves! You’re right! So if anyone drops out, something changes, but in a good way. There are so many combinations.

Russ Hanchin: I’ve never thought about that concept of line writing in the context of a small group or a chamber ensemble but it makes total sense.

Julian Lage: Total sense, man. Bartok wrote these duets for two violins and I was playing them with my friend yesterday. And it’s so weird because here I am, the guitar player and I’m just playing this one note but she’s playing the other perfect note and the sum of the parts is a chord and it’s like, whoa, you only need two notes, man. So anyway, that’s my ideal process for writing.

Russ Hanchin: You mentioned the Bartok, do you consider yourself a solid sight reader?

Julian Lage: It’s pretty good! I used to be obsessed with being a good sight reader as a kid. I just would read everything just for the experience. With classical material, I’m prone to falling on my face a lot more because I don’t understand expression markings as well. But yeah, as far as sight reading, it’s kind of something I look forward to.

Russ Hanchin: Did you take any of those advanced sight reading ensembles at Berklee?

Julian Lage: At Berklee? No, I never did. I heard they really put you through the grind!

Russ Hanchin: Can we jump to something a whole lot less esoteric here and talk about gear for a minute?

Julian Lage: Oh, I guess, if we have to! [feigns disinterest]

Russ Hanchin: I know you play a Manzer archtop and I’ve seen pictures of you with a Martin D-18. But it looks like the Manzer is your main axe?

Julian Lage: It is, yeah, for most of my life.

Russ Hanchin: Of all the guitars out there you could have gotten, how did you arrive at the Manzer?

Julian Lage: Actually, again I’m very lucky. I found her at a guitar show when I was eleven. The Healdsburg Guitar Festival, it’s a pretty renowned one actually. Linda [Manzer] comes and [Bob] Benedetto and all these builders. So I had known about her through Pat [Metheny] and she had this archtop there at the show and, oh my God, it was amazing, I fell in love with it. And she said, "yeah, it would be great if you played one". And at the end of the show, she went back to Canada, and a few weeks went by. So I thought, well let me just ask her what she would charge and how long is the waiting list, ’cause it was like four or five years at the time. So to my pleasant surprise, she said, "Oh, well the one you played, the Blue Note model, that one was actually used and I’m selling it right now!" The story is the woman who formerly owned was getting tendinitis and Linda was going to build her a whole new instrument. So we worked out a deal and I’ve had that guitar for the last ten years and it’s just incredible how it’s broken in. It has a five ply laminate top, maple-mahogany-maple-mahogany-maple, carved by Borys.

Russ Hanchin: Yeah, I knew Roger Borys was carving some of those for Linda, I actually have two of Roger’s guitars myself.

Julian Lage: Oh, do you?!

Russ Hanchin: Yes, I actually know Roger pretty well.

Julian Lage: Really? I’ve never interacted with him.

Russ Hanchin: Yeah, he does extremely good work.

Julian Lage: Actually Linda built me another guitar as a backup and I used it and loved it, but I recently sold it to a friend who I think is putting it to good use. I mean it was an amazing instrument and a great backup, but I had become so used to my main Manzer that it was hard to play anything else.

Russ Hanchin: It really becomes an extension of you doesn’t it?

Julian Lage: Completely. And with the Martin, it’s a D-18 Golden Era, so it’s a replica, and it’s probably about two years old now. It’s a great guitar, great guitar.

Russ Hanchin: Do you collect other guitars or do you feel like you have three or four that will do all you will ever need?

Julian Lage: Well, I’m kind of an accidental collector because I think have nine guitars here with me in Boston. But they’re not all mine. I had a Shelley Park gypsy style guitar on loan and I have a Sadowsky semi-hollowbody here on loan. I’ve got a Santa Cruz OM model that I had as a kid. And then I’ve got a Martin D-1 and then I’ve got a Running Dog guitar, are you familiar with Running Dog?

Russ Hanchin: No, I’m not!

Julian Lage: Yeah, they’re great guitars. Rick Davis builds them up in Vermont. The model is a Chickadee model, which is something that Martin made in the late 1800’s. It’s like a parlor guitar with sloped shoulders. It’s very cool, and it has walnut back and sides.

Russ Hanchin: Wow, what kind of voice does it have?

Julian Lage: It’s huge! Well, OK, the low end isn’t huge compared to a dreadnought, but the mid to high is just crystal clear. So those are the guitars that are with me right now. But if I could just play acoustic all the time I would. I’m troubled by the fact that so often I find myself playing through amplifiers because I have to, but I’m not an amp guy. Some people know how to use amps and they can elicit a great sound, but I think it’s fun to find that with an acoustic guitar. I play the Manzer a lot like a dreadnought. It’s funny because I share that guitar with a lot of people. Because they’re not that common and someone will say "oh is that a Manzer?" and I’ll say "yeah! play it!" And the jazz guys all play very delicate, but the way it sounds the best is when you hand that guitar to a Bluegrass guy! They know how to play it, and it’s built for that, you just gotta hit it, you know?!

Russ Hanchin: That’s amazing. And I don’t know about the Manzer, but with my Borys which also has a laminated top, it has a very good acoustic sound. So do you use flatwound strings?

Julian Lage: Actually I use roundwound for the electrics. I use Sadowsky roundwound super alloy.

Russ Hanchin: I’ve seen some videos of you and there usually seems to be a Fender [amp] sitting next to you. Is that your amp of choice?

Julian Lage: [laughs] Yeah, usually it’s a twin reverb ‘65 reissue. That’s my favorite amp.

Russ Hanchin: Do you use any effects?

Julian Lage: Sometimes a little bit of reverb. I travel with just a guitar and a cable, and then if they have an amplifier I’ll plug in. I do use a DPA 4099G which is an incredible clip on microphone. And so, in the house I’ll split the sound that you’re hearing between the amp and the acoustic. No effects. I once had a whammy pedal and it broke so I stopped using it. See, that was a sign from above! [laughs] I took my cue!

Russ Hanchin: How many dates are you playing these days?

Julian Lage: Well, it comes in waves. My band this year has done quite a lot of tours where we’ll be out for four or five days at a time, then you come home for a bit.

Russ Hanchin: Are there some clubs out there where you feel really comfortable or have grown to like?

Julian Lage: Club Passim in Harvard Square is probably my favorite. There’s a place in upstate New York called the Falcon Room that’s really, really special.

Russ Hanchin: So have you played a lot of big halls and festivals and that sort of thing?

Julian Lage: Somewhat, yeah. I played Symphony Hall here in Boston, which was really cool. Let’s see, where else… Seattle has a Symphony Hall I’ve played. I played Troy Savings Bank, that’s the hall upstate [NY], that’s a great place. So I’ve been really lucky, and hopefully my band will be playing these venues more.

Russ Hanchin: Cool. So, do you have any parting shots for any new players out there who may be reading this?

Julian Lage: Sure! Well, there’s something that a friend of mine said about Jim Hall, and Jim Hall is my hero, you know? He’s the guy I followed growing up and we’ve become friends. But anyway, my friend was talking about Jim and he said "you know Jim treats other [musicians] like we’re all working for the same company." And he meant, it doesn’t really matter how good you are, or what level you’re on, we all signed up for the same job. And what comes with that is a lot of respect for each other. So you think, wow, of all the people in the world, this person decided to make this his life as well. So that’s one piece of advice I suppose. We’re all in this together, there’s no one better, there’s no one worse, and we just need to enjoy that.

Russ Hanchin: That’s really an important message I think. Have you ever seen that old clip from the Dick Cavett show where he interviewed Jimi Hendrix?

Julian Lage: No, I haven’t!

Russ Hanchin: So anyway, Dick asks Hendrix "how does it feel to be the best guitar player in the world?" And Jimi says "why don’t we just say that I’m the best guitar player sitting in this chair right now?"

Julian Lage: Ha ha! [laughs] Oh man, that is just beautiful!

Russ Hanchin: Julian, thanks a lot, man. I wish you all the best in your life and music.

Julian Lage: My pleasure, man. Great interview, I hope this helped! [laughs]

Richmond, VA based guitarist Russ Hanchin, is an accomplished performer. Early in his career Russ studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston where he completed a program studying jazz guitar and composition, including private instruction with Jon Damian, Brett Wilmott and Mick Goodrick. Russ has performed both as an accompanist and as a featured soloist in a variety of musical formats. His credits include playing with legendary organist Richard "Groove" Holmes, Steps Ahead bassist Tom Kennedy, Paul Butterfield drummer Phillip Wilson, saxophonist, Steve Wilson and vocalist Rene Marie. Currently, he specializes in arranging and performing jazz standards and Brazilian music. Russ is also a prolific composer and is credited with authoring a number of jazz and bossa compositions.

Julian Lage recommended listening:

Sounding Point – Julian Lage, released 2009
Next Generation – Gary Burton, released 2006
Dawg Duos – David Grisman, released 1999