The upcoming week at Guild Hall features “An Evening of Jazz Guitar: Julian Lage With Jorge Roeder,” on Saturday evening at 8, and a dance performance by the Gibney Company on Friday, July 11, also at 8. Tickets to both programs are in short supply.
Julian Lage is widely regarded as one of the most expressive and inventive guitarists of his generation. His work blends jazz tradition with contemporary flair, and his improvisation and technique have drawn raves.
“Watching Lage perform is fascinating in that he often makes outlandishly intricate passages look effortless while rendering simple lines laden with willful effort, gathering himself in the silent pauses before plunging ahead,” wrote Andrew Gilbert for San Francisco Classical Voice. “When it comes to balladry, there’s simply no guitarist with a more lyrical sensibility.”
Born in California and based in New York, Mr. Lage was a child prodigy who performed at the Grammy Awards at age 12. Ten years later, his “Sounding Point” received two Grammy nominations, and his three subsequent albums all received Grammy nods for best contemporary instrumental album. He has collaborated with Gary Burton and John Zorn, among others.
Originally from Lima, Peru, Mr. Roeder, a bassist, is renowned for his versatility and expressiveness. Bass Musician magazine called his debut album “a true demonstration of how a bass can literally fill the room with both percussive and melodic qualities. There has never been a better example of the huge potential that the upright bass has in the right hands.”
Tickets are $45 to $75, $40 to $67.50 for members.
The Gibney Company, one of New York’s leading contemporary dance ensembles, is making its Guild Hall debut with a program of three new and reimagined works by three acclaimed choreographers. The program includes Roy Assaf’s “A Couple,” William Forsythe’s “Trio (of six),” and Lucinda Childs’s “Three Dances (for prepared piano) John Cage.”
“A Couple” is an evocative exploration of the complex and shifting dynamics between two people. “Trio (of six)” is a reconfiguration of Mr. Forsythe’s 1996 work. Restaged several times in its original trio form, the six-person staging at Guild Hall reflects the choreographer’s custom of evolving works over time. “Three Dances (for prepared piano) John Cage” explores Cage’s 1944-45 composition “Three Dances” through a lens of movement.
Led by its artistic director, Gina Gibney, and its company director, Gilbert T. Small II, the company commissions and performs works by renowned and emerging choreographers from around the world who are committed to exploring connections between the physicality of contemporary dance and humanistic storytelling.
The available tickets are $125, $112.50 for members.
