Jazz guitarist Julian Lage is ‘work in progress’

Jazz guitarist Julian Lage had a life-altering experience in his youth, thanks to a veritable guitar hero.

Now 30, Lage was just 8 when Carlos Santana jammed with the child prodigy.

'It was surreal playing with such a brilliant guitarist,” Lage said by phone from Arcata, Calif. 'There was no ego involved. It was just kindness. Carlos is a hero of mine.”

The Santana experience inspired a short documentary, 'Jules at Eight.”

'That film is interesting since I barely play in the documentary,” Lage said. 'It's not like you're watching this kid who is blowing people away with exceptional guitar playing. What you get in the movie is a little boy. It's very sweet, but you don't get to see me play enough.”

Those who visit CSPS Hall in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday (10/3) will witness plenty of Lage. He's touring behind 'Modern Lore,” which dropped in February. His 10th instrumental studio release follows up 2016's 'ArcLight,” which was his first electric album.

'Playing with the electric guitar feels very natural,” he said. 'I just decided to do it again. This time out, I followed my nose the whole way. It was an organic approach. Nothing was forced with this album. I can't express how much I enjoyed the experience in the studio this time around.”

He added numerous elements, including Americana, surf and flamenco.

'I thought it would be fun to mix things up a gig,” he said. 'It makes things interesting for me. I learn by making changes. Even though I've been doing this for a long time, I'm a student of the music.”

Lage, who grew up in northern California, has always been humble in an industry swelling with egos.

'I don't understand the point of that (hubris),” he said. 'I'm a work in progress. Each record documents the journey that I'm taking. This album was different in a couple of important ways.”

The most significant difference is that 'Modern Lore” includes bassist Scott Colley and drummer Kenny Wollesen. The rhythm section also backed up Lage during 'ArcLight.” Up until then, every Lage album featured different collaborators.

'I didn't want to do a one-off this time,” he said. 'It really helped having some continuity. I enjoy working with Scott and Kenny. When we recorded ‘ArcLight,' we hadn't played much as a trio. We had just done a handful of shows but we toured quite a bit behind ‘ArcLight.' We've gotten to know each other much more. We're on the same page. We're passionate about what we do and we've all played our instruments forever.”

The Berklee College of Music alum picked up the guitar at age 5 and has practiced ever since.

'I think the reason I picked up and didn't put it down then was because my father started playing again the year before, when I was 4,” Lage said. 'It was an excuse to do something with my dad. We hung out and played guitar. I just fell in love with the instrument. There are so many things you can do with the guitar, and I found my niche with it.”

GET OUT!

WHAT: Julian Lage Trio

WHERE: CSPS Hall, 1103 Third St. SE, Cedar Rapids

WHEN: 7 p.m. Wednesday

TICKETS: $19 advance, $23 door; CSPS Box Office, (319) 364-1580 or Legionarts.org/events/upcoming/julian-lage-trio/

ARTIST'S WEBSITE: Julianlage.com