THE CROSSROADS - Lage Lund: Soloing with Intervals

Down at the Crossroads this month, John Wheatcroft checks out an incredible Norwegian virtuoso, and one of the brightest stars from today's world of jazz guitar.

- John Wheatcroft

New York based Norwegian guitarist Lage Lund was awarded the prestigious Theolonius Monk International Jazz Guitarist award in 2005. And from that moment to this he has carved a remarkably successful career as both bandleader and in-demand sideman, with an ever-growing portfolio of album releases to his name. Lund’s playing is both beautiful and complex. He expertly balances a cerebral approach to music with a heartfelt emotional intensity, but never without a lyrical and expressive quality to his sound.

There’s an underlying intelligence and intricacy to everything he plays, yet it never sounds mechanical or overly intellectual. His tone is both warm and clear and his rhythmic sense propulsive and defined. While his solos are always breathtaking, he’s also a fantastic accompanist, where he combines a sensitive ear with an encyclopaedic knowledge of chord voicings, voice leading and harmony.

Lage adopts a detailed and meticulous approach to practising, with pinpoint precision and focus. I was fortunate to attend a masterclass he gave in London where, among other things, he talked about the power of focusing on just one area of your playing and ensuring that you revisit this topic on a daily basis. One can really sense the endless possibilities and the infinite potential of any idea in his lines, his use of harmony, manipulation of time, and every other facet of his music.