Julian Lage began his musical career as a guitarist fourteen years ago. That may seem a long lead-up to a first performance at the North Sea Jazz Festival, were it not for the fact that he was only eight years old at the time and yet was already playing with greats like Carlos Santana, Pat Metheny, Kenny Werner, Toots Thielemans, Martin Taylor and David Grisman. This child prodigy had his first lessons at age five. He did not choose the path laid out for him, in spite of all the praise and offers of recording deals. Instead, Lage initially opted for a musical career in the shadow of others, for example, as a sideman to Gary Burton. In 2009, at the age of 21, he decided the time was right for his debut album, Sounding Point. A subtle and well-balanced album on which meticulous compositions alternate with unprepared improvisations in varying formations.
