Joe Lovano

Hailed by The New York Times as one of the greatest musicians in jazz history, Grammy Award-winning saxophone titan Joe Lovano has distinguished himself as a prescient and pathfinding force in the arena of creative music.

Joe Lovano's Paramount Quartet

Grammy Award-winning titan of jazz saxophone Joe Lovano and virtuoso guitarist Julian Lage have enjoyed a long journey of mutual artistic admiration.

The Initial Meeting

They first met in 1999 at Yoshi's in Oakland, where Joe was performing with McCoy Tyner. Then a child prodigy, Julian's father brought him to the show, and it was there he connected with Joe.

Continued Collaboration

They kept in touch through the years, even performing together at a private event, then reuniting at Berklee College of Music. "I've always found him a natural, beautiful, expressive musician with maturity beyond his years," Joe says of Julian. "He is someone I always knew I would collaborate with at some point, and I'm so happy to have his contributions within the Paramount Quartet."

Band Members

• Longtime Lovano collaborator Asante Santi Debriano, who first performed with Joe in the Archie Shepp Quartet in the 1980s, joins on bass.
• Drummer Will Calhoun (of Living Colour fame) contacted Joe to perform with him and Santi in a fundraiser last year for the Puerto Rican Relief Fund after the devastating hurricane.

Inspirations for the Band Formation

That explosive, creative set was the springboard leading to the idea of adding Julian and forming this new band, which debuted at the legendary Village Vanguard in February 2024.

Artwork

Artwork by Alex Gilbeaux.