This only-in-Savannah double bill pairs two generations of virtuoso electric guitarists. Whether sonically reinventing chamber strings music or applying electric improvisation to bluegrass and early rock, guitar pioneer Bill Frisell keeps on making music that could only be his. Few musicians have managed to be both as deeply reverent to their source music and profoundly personal in their approach. Last appearing at SMF in 2010, Frisell continues his eclectic and original path with a trio featuring bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Rudy Royston. Frisell has collaborated with jazz greats Dave Holland & Elvin Jones and Ron Carter & Paul Motian, and was recognized as one of America’s 21 most vital and productive performing artists by the Doris Duke Foundation.

 

Julian Lage has long been heralded for his ability as an acoustic guitarist. As a guitar prodigy, his early genius was captured in the 1997 Oscar-nominated documentary, “Jules at 8.” As an adult, he has more than fulfilled the promise of his early talents, expanding as a bandleader, composer and passionate educator. As Assistant Director of SMF’s Acoustic Music Seminar, Lage has performed at SMF in a variety of formats: solo on a co-bill with Martin Taylor; in duet with guitarist Chris Eldridge and with bassist Jorge Roeder; in trio with Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing Trio; and with ensembles in the annual Stringband Spectacular. The New Yorker says: “He is in the highest category of improvising musicians, those who can enact thoughts and impulses as they receive them.”