Today, virtuosic guitarist Julian Lage announced he will release The Layers, a companion piece to his celebrated 2022 LP View With A Room, on March 17. In celebration of the news, Lage released a live performance video of him playing the upcoming project’s title track.

The Layers, comprised of six original pieces, was recorded during the same sessions, which found Lage collaborating and discovering new musical possibilities with bassist Jorge Roeder, drummer Dave King along with fellow guitarist Bill Frisell. Like View With A Room, the new offering sees the meeting of two of contemporary jazz’s most compelling voices with one of the most masterful and inventive rhythm sections – because of this, they share a similar atmosphere. However, half the pieces on The Layers–produced by Margaret Glaspy and recorded by Mark Goodell with additional production by Armand Hirsch–are centered around the acoustic guitar, offering a more distinguishable sonic palette that explores further improvisational expanses over longer tracks.

“At its core, The Layers is a prequel to View With A Room,” explained Lage in a press release. “It has all the musical seeds that grew into what I consider the touchstones of View With A Room—a duo with Bill, a duo with Jorge, more atmospheric and expansive writing, Dave and Jorge’s incredible rhythmic and orchestrational sensibilities. View With A Room is a comprehensive look at these musical qualities we were so excited to explore in the studio, and The Layers offers a distillation of the various relationships within the ensemble and production team. Taken as a whole, The Layers has a heartbeat all of its own.”

Watch Lage perform the title track of The Layers below.