I saw Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge perform together at the Deadly Gentlemen’s Ball in January, so I knew what to expect or so I thought.

Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge

I would venture to guess that the more they play together, the better they get; that was certainly the case last week at Club Passim.

Julian’s genre is jazz while Chris’s is bluegrass; they are seemingly disparate styles yet they merge well when this two play.

Critter

Julian

The show started with a few duets without vocals.  They mixed styles in those opening numbers. I particularly enjoyed that because the only time I’d seen them was a bluegrass show and mostly bluegrass was what I expected from this show.

Julian and Chris

Chris (whose nickname is Critter – I wanted to ask the derivation but did not get a chance) did most of the singing after that. He is more comfortable singing, although Julian was more at ease in front of the microphone on this night than he was three months ago.

Chris

Julian

My favorite song of the evening – because it was one of my favorite songs in general – was Critter’s rendition of ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’. It brought a tear to my eye just as it had last time I saw them.

Julian and Critter have tremendous artistic chemistry. I saw Critter’s expressions because I was seated in a position where I could see his face, and he was a joy to watch. The intensity with which he watched Julian when Julian was taking the lead was exciting to see.

Critter and Julian

I hope they release a recording or three of this collaboration. It is one of the most interesting pairings I’ve heard and I would love to have them in rotation on my iPod.