Avalon (Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge album)

Avalon is an album by guitarists Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge, released in 2014. The album was produced and engineered by Kenneth Pattengale of The Milk Carton Kids and mastered by Dan Millice.^[1] It was recorded at the Avalon theatre in Easton, Maryland. On the album Lage plays a 000-18 Martin Guitar from 1939, and Eldridge plays a Martin D-18 from 1937. Lage and Eldridge have described the album as a “love letter to the acoustic guitar.”^[2]

Avalon
Studio album by Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge
Released	October 7, 2014
Recorded	April 27–28, 2014
Venue	The Avalon Theatre, Easton, Maryland
Length	44:52
Label	Modern Lore
Producer	Kenneth Pattengale
Julian Lage chronology
Free Flying (2013) Avalon (2014) Room (2014)
Chris Eldridge chronology
Who's Feeling Young Now? (2012) Avalon (2014) The Phosphorescent Blues (2015)

This is the first full-length album that Lage and Eldridge have released together, but they previously put out an EP entitled "Close to Picture" which consisted of original compositions. Avalon has both covers and original songs, and includes instrumentals as well as tracks with vocals by Eldridge.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]} Lage is considered to be a jazz guitarist while Eldridge comes from a bluegrass background,^[10][11] but the album spans a variety of genres.^{[12][13][14][15]}

Reception

Guitar World said "Avalon is an unfiltered document of the pair’s live set, a mix of originals and covers that illustrate the breadth of the American songbook as Lage and Eldridge perceive it, incorporating bluegrass, country, gospel, old-time music and jazz. There was no playback, no overdubs, just the duo’s eloquent, in-the-moment musical repartee".^[3]

Pitchfork called it "a sophisticated guitar LP that doesn’t sound sophisticated, an effort that folds its intense erudition deep beneath its lovely surface".^[16]

Track listing

1. "Stone Cross" (Julian Lage) – 3:33
2. "Mean Mother Blues" (John Starling) – 3:44
3. "Keep Me from Blowing Away" (Paul Craft) – 3:52
4. "Whiskey Before Breakfast" (Traditional) – 3:42
5. "Open up the Window, Noah" (Traditional) – 3:01
6. "Wilson's Waltz" (Lage) – 9:04
7. "Someone to Watch over Me" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 4:18
8. "Ginseng Sullivan" (Norman Blake) – 3:33
9. "Steady Proof" (Lage) – 2:59
10. "Any Old Time" (Jimmie Rodgers) – 3:42
11. "Butter and Eggs" (Margaret Glaspy) – 3:24

Personnel

• Chris Eldridge – guitar, vocals
• Julian Lage – guitar
• Kenneth Pattengale – engineering, production
• Dan Millice – mastering

References

1. Good Guitar, Alec Wilkinson - The New Yorker Archived 2017-02-17 at the Wayback Machine
2. Hear Julian Lage And Chris Eldridge With Gonzalo Bergara From The Crown Guitar Festival - Montana Public Radio Archived 2017-03-14 at the Wayback Machine
3. Julian Lage and Punch Brothers' Chris Eldridge to Release 'Avalon' on Oct 7 - Guitar World Archived 2017-03-13 at the Wayback Machine
4. Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge: Avalon - Relix Archived 2017-03-13 at the Wayback Machine
5. Overlooked Experimental Records 2014 - Pitchfork Archived 2016-11-22 at the Wayback Machine
6. JULIAN LAGE AND CHRIS ELDRIDGE PROVIDE 'STEADY PROOF' OF THEIR COLLECTIVE ACOUSTIC PROWESS - The Bluegrass Situation Archived 2016-09-10 at the Wayback Machine
7. Guitarists Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge Pick Some Winners - San Francisco Classical Voice Archived 2017-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
8. Julian Lage Trio - Carnegie Hall Archived 2015-11-13 at the Wayback Machine
9. Spinnaker Radio’s Favorite Albums of 2014 - Spinnaker Archived 2015-09-20 at the Wayback Machine
10. Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge: a guitar duo built on friendship - LexGo Archived 2017-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
11. Guitarist Julian Lage's Road From Child Prodigy to Seasoned Pro - Rolling Stone Archived 2017-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
12. Guitarist Julian Lage brings jazz chops to Americana for Bigfork concert - Missoulian Archived 2016-08-25 at the Wayback Machine
13. Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge - Mount Royal Archived 2017-01-13 at the Wayback Machine
14. Bone Collector video from Julian & Chris Archived 2017-01-13 at the Wayback Machine
15. Signs of life: These artistic events will bloom through the winter Archived 2017-01-09 at the Wayback Machine
16. Cura, G. H. Pitchfork: Chris Eldridge and Julian Lage: Anyone Can Learn Guitar, accessed May 3, 2019