Listen: Lage Lund – “12 Beats”

“The guitarist Lage Lund exudes a diffident and self-deprecating kind of cool,” writes Nate Chinen in The New York Times. “His playing and presence can both be casually magnetic. Like Jim Hall, one of the guitarists in his heroes’ gallery, he channels reticence into a whisper-quiet mystique.”Originally from Skein, Norway, Lage moved to the States to attend Berklee College of Music, and was the first guitarist to be enrolled in Juilliard’s Institute of Jazz Studies. In 2005, he won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Guitar Competition. The decision was made by a panel featuring Pat Martino, John Pizzarelli, Earl Klugh, Bill Frisell, Stanley Jordan and Russell Malone, who explained, “Lage wasn’t flashy. He was just all music and soul – that’s what we all agreed upon.”As a bandleader, Lage has released five albums. Since moving to New York in 2002, he has also been a first call sideperson, and has appeared on recordings and in concert with David Sanchez, Seamus Blake, Jaleel Shaw, Will Vinson, Jimmy Greene, Marcus Strickland, Carmen Lundy, and others.Lage has performed here as a leader dozens of times dating back to 2006. On Sunday, he returns with the band from his release Unlikely Stories (Criss Cross), which features the pianist Edward Simon, the bassist Ben Street, and the drummer Bill Stewart.UPDATE: This performance has been cancelled due to illness.Listen to “12 Beats,” a track from Unlikely Stories.