The Layers is a stunning companion piece to guitarist Julian Lage’s acclaimed 2022 album View With A Room, featuring six original pieces recorded during the same sessions.
By augmenting his deeply attuned trio of bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King with the addition of fellow guitar icon Bill Frisell, Julian Lage has discovered new musical possibilities and created something both intimate and gorgeous.
Imbued with vibrant colors and exquisite interplay, The Layers is a welcome additional offering from this meeting of two of modern jazz’s most distinctive voices with one of the music’s most skilled and inventive rhythm sections. The six songs on The Layers all share a musical spirit that stems from a more atmospheric world then the ten songs on View With A Room. Half of the pieces are centered around the acoustic guitar, which further distinguishes the sonic palette, and they each explore longer form structures with wider improvisational expanses.
“At its core, The Layers is a prequel to View With A Room,” explains Lage. “It has all the musical seeds that grew into what I consider the touchstones of View With A Room - a duo with Bill, a duo with Jorge, more atmospheric and expansive writing, Dave and Jorge’s incredible rhythmic and orchestrational sensibilities. View With A Room is a comprehensive look at these musical qualities we were so excited to explore in the studio, and The Layers offers a distillation of the various relationships within the ensemble and production team. Taken as a whole, The Layers has a heartbeat all of its own.”
The Layers was produced by Margaret Glaspy and recorded by Mark Goodell with additional production by Armand Hirsch.