Broken Record

We occasionally field emails and DMs from Broken Record listeners telling us who they’d like to hear on the program. The past handful of years, one name has come up more than others: Julian Lage. Now, if you’re not part of the converted, not a member of one of his devoted legion of fans that may come as a surprise. But if you get the chance to spend some time with his music after listening to this episode… I have one word for you: welcome. Julian’s path in music has been as unique as his gifts. He picked up the guitar at five years old and quickly became obsessed with the instrument. That obsession and what must be some level of innate abilities led to his designation as a “child prodigy” and, as you’ll hear, the opportunity to play live on stage with Carlos Santana live at eight and live on a Grammy telecast at 13. But it’s his development as an artist, over the course of four albums in four years on Blue Note that’s most impressive. His album Speak to Me came out earlier this year and is impressionistic in