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Frisell's "Beautiful
Dreamers" Recently Released on Savoy
Bill
Frisell recently signed with Savoy/429 Records and
released
“Beautiful
Dreamers” —a stunning recording consisting of
new original compositions and striking reinterpretations featuring
Eyvind Kang (viola) and Rudy Royston (drums). Produced by Lee
Townsend, engineered by Adam Muñoz at Fantasy Studios
in Berkeley and mastered with Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound in
New York, “Beautiful
Dreamers” captures the magic of one of Frisell's
most personal statements in seamless and stimulating musical dialogue with his
band mates Kang and Royston.
When listening to Bill Frisell play, it’s easy to
forget you’re hearing an electric guitar. Through touch,
tone and voicings that are free of the usual six-string tropes,
his instrument can sound, variously, like a pedal steel,
a toy piano, a string quartet, a church bell, a plane in
the distance, even a human voice.
This remarkable gift continues to serve him well on his
29th solo album, whether he’s covering Stephen Foster
(“Beautiful Dreamer”), Benny Goodman (“Benny’s
Bugle”) or Teddy Randazzo (“Goin’ Out of
My Head”), or playing his own spooky, cinematic tunes
like “Baby Cry,” “Winslow Homer” and “Better
Than a Machine.” The striking originality of the arrangements
Frisell creates with viola player Eyvind Kang and drummer
Rudy Royston can even transform ancient Tin Pan Alley fare
like “Tea for Two” or “Keep on the Sunny
Side” into something startlingly fresh and modern.
Recorded at Fantasy Studios and produced by longtime collaborator
Lee Townsend, this record doesn’t really sound much
like jazz as much as compelling, emotionally resonant, genre-free
music. Sure, it swings in places, and there’s some
fiery improvisation. But after decades of trodding such a
brave and singular path, maybe Frisell deserves his own genre.
How about “friz”? - Bill DeMain, JazzTimes (Oct.
2010)
"Magical!" .... Mike Hobart, Financial Times (London)
“On Beautiful Dreamers, Frisell uses works
by Stephen Foster, Blind Willie Johnson, The Carter Family
and Benny Goodman, along with Burt Bacharach-style pop, as
springboards for wiry, bluesy, and distinctly rocking works
of his own. The two sets of compositions co-exist on Beautiful
Dreamers as musical cousins. Their stylistically familial
ties surface with every listen. And Beautiful Dreamers is
an album you will want to revisit often..... Like so many
Frisell groups, this trio unfolds its music with a sound
that is light yet lush, in a manner that is purposeful but
unhurried... But the highlight sits in the middle of the
album with a Frisell original dedicated to the late songsmith
Vic Chesnutt, titled “Better Than a Machine”.
In this dreamscape recording of Americana accents, the tune
beams as a blast of bright, poppish sunshine. It's indeed
the moment when the already attractive Beautiful Dreamers becomes
even lovelier.” By Walter Tunis, www.kentucky.com
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Bill
Frisell Live In Montreal DVD
Released in July “Blues
Dream Live ” the
DVD featuring Bill Frisell’s
live performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival, July 1st,
2002. This DVD features Bill Frisell’s
septet which includes Matt Chamberlain on drums, Billy
Drewes on alto sax, Curtis Fowlkes on trombone, Greg Leisz
on steel guitars and mandolin, Ron Miles on trumpet and
David Piltch on bass.
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Buster
Keaton with music from Bill Frisell on DVD
For a number of years, Bill has been performing his film scores
for Buster Keaton movies live to enthusiastic audiences all over
the world. Out now for the first time, his music for the Keaton
classics Go West, The High Sign and One Week are being released
with the films on DVD by Songtone/Tone Field Productions, available
exclusively here.
Bill's longtime musical colleagues Kermit Driscoll (bass) and
Joey Baron (drums) join Bill in enhancing not only the well known
slapstick and comedic aspects of Keaton's work, but the inherent
pathos and social commentary, as well. Purchase
a copy here!
"Evincing his best qualities as both guitarist and composer,
Frisell harvests evocative, melancholy Americana from deceptively
modest, episodic themes. Coloring the scenes with acoustic as
well as his trademark electric, Frisell produces strangely cinematic
motifs on guitar, and his rhythm cohorts - longtime bassist Kermit
Driscoll and drummer Joey Baron - provide abundant narrative
drive." - Billboard |
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Bill Frisell "Solos" DVD now available exclusively from billfrisell.com and songtone.com

Bill's
2004 solo session from the atmospheric Berkeley Church
in Toronto is now available
for the first time on DVD. Beautifully shot by Director
Daniel Berman, it includes such beloved original compositions
as "Keep Your Eyes Open", "Throughout", "Ron
Carter", "Boubacar" and "Poem For Eva" as
well as songs by other composers that have long been associated
with Bill's most powerful performances like "Shenandoah", "Wildwood
Flower", "I'm So Lonesome, I Could Cry", "Masters
Of War" and "My Man's Gone Now". As such,
it can be viewed as a definitive Frisell solo statement.
Click
here for more
info. |
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Bill
Frisell "Disfarmer" - What the Critics Have To Say
"Like David Lynch,
post jazz guitarist Bill Frisell has a knack for
insinuating an odd haze around the most wholesome
aspects of Americana. Disfarmer,
named after the cranky Arkansas photographer who
created gripping images of his neighbors, finds Frisell
teamed with steel guitarist Greg Leisz, violinist
Jenny Scheinman and bassist Viktor Krauss for a set
of 26 evocative miniatures. Each one flits by like
a half-remembered dream, yet paradoxically their
sum amounts to one of Frisell's loveliest, most consistently
affecting recent creations." - Steve Smith,
Time Out, New York
"The music of omnivorous
guitarist Bill Frisell reflects an eclectic range
of influences .... On "Disfarmer," he
draws inspiration from the Depression-era portraits
of little-known Arkansas photographer Michael
Disfarmer. The result is a provocative soundscape
that features a mixture of acoustic and electric
guitars.... Creatively restless, Frisell is best
suited for exploring vast territory and responding
with imaginative integrity, which is evidenced
on "Disfarmer." - Dan Ouellette, Billboard
"Exquisite." - Independent
on Sunday
"Frisell's filmic themes
summon up the ghosts of a lost America. The results
are gently beautiful." The Times
"The tunes prove so hauntingly
evocative that they conjure the spirits of long-vanished
people and places without the need for visual accompaniment." -
Metro
"The hymns and hoedowns
of 'Disfarmer'
are both affectionate and atmospheric." -
Daily Telegraph
"You
practically feel the Arkansas soil slipping through
your fingers." - The Sun
"Frisell's
pacing is magnificent, and the album sweeps along
with purpose like a gorgeous, spacious epic. It
is full of sounds that suggest settings and characters,
including the mysterious eccentric who inspired
the recording." - Houston Chronicle
 In
the small mountain town of Heber Springs, the Arkansas
artist known as Disfarmer captured
the lives and emotions of the people of rural America
between 1939-1945. Critics have hailed Disfarmer's
remarkable black and white portraits as "a work
of artistic genius" and "a classical episode
in the history of American photography.Disfarmer's
work has captivated the imagination of the celebrated
guitarist and composer Bill Frisell, who has been inspired
to write and perform music in concert with multiple
projected images from this treasure trove of period
portraits. Three long-time musical collaborators, violinist
Jenny Scheinman, bassist Viktor
Krauss and steel guitarist Greg Leisz,
will share the stage in interpreting Frisell's music.
Set and lighting designer Alex Nichols is on board
to spearhead the visual treatments of the program.
This piece was premiered at
the Wexner Center in Columbus, Ohio in March of 2007. This
project periodically tours and dates are posted on
Bill's Tour page. |
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Blame
Sally "Night of 1000 Stars"
Lee just finished Night of 1000
Stars by San Francisco band Blame Sally,
creating an eclectic and undeniably original brand of folk
pop that plays on the "indie edges of Americana". Bringing
together the four unique voices and musical personalities
of Renee Harcourt, Monica Pasqual, Jeri Jones and Pam Delgado,
Blame Sally has forged a cohesive musical identity that
is compelling and instantly recognizable. Night
of 1000 Stars was engineered by Shawn Pierce and Adam
Muñoz and mastered by Greg Calbi. |
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Doug Wamble
Lee recently finished producing the eponymously titled new album
by singer-songwriter and guitarist Doug
Wamble. Released
on the E1 Music label, the music on Doug Wamble is
rootsy, urbane and rhythmically vital featuring Doug's rich, soulful
voice, his distinctive songwriting, his astonishing guitar playing
and his excellent band. Recorded in New York and mixed
in Nashville with Jason Lehning and mastered with Greg Calbi, guests
include Carrie Rodriguez, Charlie Hunter and Jonah Smith.
"For a jazz guitarist, Doug Wamble is one hell of
a soul man -- not just his playing, but his writing, and
especially his voice, which lies somewhere between Donny
Hathaway and Stevie Wonder. His background is evident in
some of the chords he uses, but he hides it well, and the
songs come across as lovely soul, as on the delicious "Sweet
Return to Madness" and "It May Be a Dream," where
the violin and voice of Carrie Rodriguez add some lovely
delicacy to the proceedings. Wamble's guitar work takes
a back seat for some of the disc, although he takes off
on slide on the gospel-flavored "Bitter Angels" and
works with Charlie Hunter on the opener, "Think About
It All,"
while the slow build of "Oh Heaven," with its
piano backdrop, offers a superb frame for his restrained
solo. But this is an album that's about the song, not playing
technique, and Wamble shows himself to be a songwriter of
true talent... It all closes with a cover of Fiona Apple's "I
Know" that
returns Wamble to acoustic guitar, his natural instrument,
giving a spare, aching version of the song. It's a soft,
ideal closer to a lovingly crafted
disc." - Chris Nickson, All Music Guide
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Floratone
Floratone is a studio-intensive collaborative project with
drummer Matt Chamberlain, Bill Frisellproducers Lee
Townsend and Tucker Martine featuring
deep grooves, glistening melodies, ambient atmospheres and
rich sonic textures. String and horn colors are provided courtesy
of special guests Viktor Krauss, Ron
Miles and Eyvind Kang. It is released
on Blue Note Records. Check out Floratone.com for
more information.
REVIEWS
The Decade In Review: Jazz And The Mash-Up
It's difficult to frame the last
10 years in jazz around its "most important" recordings:
What strikes me as most important
about this decade is that musically,
anything went. In the age of the mash-up and the iPod
shuffle -- where musically different artists can sit
comfortably against each other -- jazz's continual flexibility
to incorporate any number of sounds and distill them
within a jazz framework is what's made this decade so
refreshing.
So what defines "importance?" The musician
in me wants to say that the most important albums were
the ones that we believe to be the most musically skillful
or adventurous, or those which introduce us to a new
exciting voice in jazz -- Jason Moran, The Bad Plus and
Brian Blade Fellowship come to mind. But what about albums
with mass crossover appeal like Norah Jones' Come Away
With Me; or recordings pegged to an event, such as Terence
Blanchard's A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina);
or Ornette Coleman's Pulitzer Prize-winning recording
Sound Grammar? What about albums that explore a high-concept
multimedia project like Bill Frisell's Disfarmer and
Dave Douglas' Keystone? I think those are all good choices.
They all brought attention to the music in creative new
ways, and all capture their own snapshots of the 2000s.
One record that really exemplifies that for me is the
Bill Frisell/Matt Chamberlain/Lee Townsend/Tucker Martine
project Floratone. Taking the Teo Macero approach to
production, Townsend and Martine crafted a stunning album
from the free studio improvisations of Frisell and Chamberlain.
Floratone's lush production brings in hints of New Orleans
jazz, swampy R&B, surf rock and electronic music.
But it also feels like an inventive and foward-thinking
tapestry of sounds that could have only happened in this
decade. -- Michael Katzif, NPR.org
Most Innovative recording of 2007: "They shaped this record
that's really not a jazz record at all. It's really this
swamp language that I found incredibly interesting and beautiful
and very different." -- Tom Moon, 2007: The
Year in Review from All Songs Considered
“Taking a page from the Miles Davis/Teo Macero playbook,
guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Matt Chamberlain teamed
up with longtime production pals Martine and Townsend
to create this studio-collaged musical masterpiece -
but Floratone doesn't sound anything like Bitches Brew or In
a Silent Way.... The 11 compositions flow one
into another like segments of a steady-moving river - in
turns brooding, swampy, choppy, effervescent, and translucent.
Chamberlain's tasteful grooves and accents provide the deepwater
impetus, while Frisell's soulful vamps, plucky palm-mutes,
shimmering harmonics, textural twang, and spacey atmospherics
weave together into so many currents and undercurrents, as
the horn and string lines glide majestically over the surface. As
intriguing as it is enjoyable, Floratone is easily
one of the best records of 2007.” Guitar Player
“Call it Ambient Americana Sound Sculpting ... The
music on Floratone is largely based around Chamberlain’s
behind-the-beat grooves and Frisell’s left-of-center
blues-drenched chords and phrases... it’s not
about soloing per se; rather it’s about collective
interpretation, exploring all possible nuances.
Floratone shares much, in fact, with Teo Macero’s
collage-like approach to sculpting In a Silent Way,
though with modern digital editing the integration is
so seamless that it’s often impossible to differentiate
between live performance and studio construction. Not
that it matters. The greatest success of Floratone is
how organic, how natural the music sounds, the
considerable technology behind it notwithstanding.
Despite all the electronic textures used from conception
to final realization, it’s a distinctive, extremely
appealing and visual collection of sonic landscapes.
There are those who believe that democratic/leaderless projects are
inherently doomed to failure. Floratone is a modern masterpiece—a
completely equitable collaboration between Frisell, Chamberlain,
Townsend and Martine—that lays such claims to waste.” John
Kelman, All About Jazz
“This is some of the most vital and exciting
guitar work Bill Frisell has ever committed to tape....
Listening to these unlikely swirls of sound is almost
like the beginnings of some exotic new language, rising
like steam from a swamp. They're like nothing else.....
it's some of the most riveting instrumental music
to emerge this year.” Tom Moon, NPR’s All
Things Considered
"The fine-tuned soundscapes maintain a satisfyingly hypnotic
menace." UK Financial Times
“A soundscape bonanza infused with a melange of jazz,
country, dub reggae, funk, rock and ambient music.” Dan
Ouellette, Billboard
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Bill
Frisell "History, Mystery" (Grammy Nominated for
Best Instrumental Jazz Album)
Bill
Frisell explores a fuller palette of orchestral
colors and timbres than any he has previously written for. "History,
Mystery" features an Octet of strings, horns
and rhythm section with some of his closest collaborators
- Jenny Scheinman (violin), Eyvind
Kang, (viola), Hank Roberts (cello), Ron
Miles (cornet), Greg Tardy (clarinet
and tenor saxophone), Tony Scherr (bass)
and Kenny Wollesen (drums). Employing
a symphonic sensibility of recurring thematic elements, "History,
Mystery" premieres many new Frisell compositions
as well as a few of his arrangements of favorite pieces
by other songwriters. Producer Lee Townsend and engineer
Shawn Pierce recorded the group in various combinations
and contexts, live and in the studio, to construct and
shape the album.
"Some artists, as they grow older, have a tendency
to retreat into a safety zone that displays their skill but
doesn't expand their repertoire or provide impetus for keeping
up. Not so guitarist Bill Frisell ... [H]e's been refining
and expanding his palette with every release.... The whole
album stands as yet another testament to the man's place
at the very epicenter of modern American music. Yes, he's
done it again." - Chris Jones, BBC.
The Guardian, in a four-star review
of History,
Mystery, says the album is "studded with gems," featuring
a line-up of musicians that reviewer John L. Waters calls "a
kind of roots-jazz-classical chamber hybrid, though with none
of the hang-ups that might imply." Waters sees "a
genuine thoughtfulness" from Bill, who, he writes, "has
the surest touch as a musician." It is an attribute "that
is true for his playing, where he can invest a single note
with meaning, and it's true in the way he organizes his music
and musicians."
The Independent calls History,
Mystery the Jazz Album of the Week, with the paper's
Tim Cumming calling it "extraordinarily eclectic" delivered
in "an all but seamless suite that's full of musical
contrasts, rich textures, lengthening shadows, and unexpected
turns." Cumming says "it's consistently engaging" with
a closing guitar solo that's "just wonderful." His
colleague Nick Coleman adds that on this collection, listeners
will find the "Frisell who makes great soundtrack music;
the one who rejoices in sieving the Hot Club de Paris out
of Thelonious Monk."
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock) “I've
always admired (Frisell’s) spirit of adventure, his willingness
to experiment and the depth of his talent and ambition... There's
something about History,
Mystery that just sucked me in right away..... It's artful,
but warm and accessible. There are smatterings of jazz, blues,
a little country, some tango and reverb rock ... but the seamless,
natural-sounding integration of these diverse influences is
engaging and often majestic. The music has a spacious,
cinematic scope that is enriched by a superb group of musicians...
The sound is vintage and modern, warm and inviting.” -
Ellis Widner
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