Current Projects:
Lee is currently working on the following projects:
 Kalaban Coura Now Available
The impressive debut album from this band of international musical colleagues from Mali, Morocco and Belgium is a story of two guitars and a violin with soulful vocals from Bamako and the Moroccan desert and a burning rhythm section. "Kalaban Koura" features Kalil Sidy Haïdara (vocals, guitars), Quentin Dujardin (vocals, guitars), Jalal El Allouli (vocals & violin), Boris Schmidt (bass), Arnout Hellofs (drums & percussion) and
special guests. Produced by Lee Townsend.
Frisell
Plays Lennon
 Consummate
guitarist, composer and musical interpreter Bill Frisell
has assembled a trusted ensemble consisting of Jenny Scheinman
(violin), Tony Scherr (bass), Greg Leisz (guitars) and Kenny Wollesen
(drums) to record his take on the classic songs of John Lennon.
Titled “ALL WE ARE SAYING,” the project has long been
in the works—one could go as far back as the first time he
heard the Beatles at the age of 13. Fast forward a few decades
and Frisell is asked to put together an impromptu set in honor
of John Lennon as part of a special event in Paris. The preparation,
performances and reception to these compositions was an inspiration
nurtured to fruition with this project. Recorded at Fantasy
Studios in Berkeley and produced by Lee Townsend.
Described by the Wall Street Journal as “the most innovative and influential
jazz guitarist of the past 25 years” Frisell’s artistry has earned
across the board praise for his instinctual musicianship—working both within
and beyond the parameters of jazz music as he effortlessly incorporates elements
of Americana, world, blues, classical, creating a rich and unique aural tapestry.
Says Frisell: “John Lennon's music has been with me, the band, everybody,
the world...seems like forever. The songs are part of us. In our blood. There
was nothing we really needed to do to prepare for this. We've been preparing
our whole lives. The songs are there. All we had to do was play them. Everyone
involved with this has their own personal, deep, long, relationship to John Lennon's
music. It connects us all and brings us together. I feel blessed having the chance
to play this music with these people”.
“All We Are Saying” song list:
Across the Universe
Revolution
Nowhere Man
Imagine
Please Please Me
You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
Hold On
In My Life
Come Together
Julia
Woman
# 9 Dream
Love
Beautiful Boy
Mother
Give Peace a Chance
Bill
Frisell - “Sign
of Life – Music for 858 Quartet”
 The 858 Quartet was originally conceived
a number of years ago when Frisell was commissioned to compose music
inspired by the artist Gerhard Richter’s 858 series of paintings
which was exhibited by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The
new recording is a result of a composing retreat that Frisell undertook
last fall Vermont. All of the material was written in the month
of October and recorded in November. This represents the shortest
gestation period of any Frisell recording to date. Produced
by longtime collaborator Lee Townsend and recorded at Fantasy Studios
in Berkeley, California in late 2010, “Sign of Life” features
Frisell on guitar, Jenny Scheinman on violin, Eyvind Kang on viola
and Hank Roberts on cello.
“Sign of Life finds Frisell exploring
chamber-group dynamics and interplay in ways that toggle between
composition and improvisation, reverberating soundscapes and spiky
minimalism... Owing to Frisell¹s familiar touch, tone and
affection for roots music, a few tunes on Sign of Life should
instantly appeal to his Nashville-bred following ... and the arrangements
take full advantage of the ensemble¹s rich sonorities and
intuitive level of play.”
- Mike Joyce, Jazz Times
"Frisell in peak form... the band's extemporaneous
arrangements deliver intricately worked variations on fiddle and
guitar breakdowns and big vista American pastoralism .... The sound
sparkles like springwater." - Phil Johnson, The Independent -
London
Bill Frisell's Sign of Life (Savoy Jazz) is one of the
most gorgeous new albums I've heard in a while. It's in the tradition
of his "Americana" albums (Disfarmer; History,
Mystery; Ghost Town; Gone, Just Like a Train; This
Land), but here he burrows deeper into the roots. There are
traces of folk, bluegrass, minimalism, western-blues, as well as
certain modes and improvisational cadences of jazz. The ensemble
is the 858 Quartet (Frisell on guitar; Jenny Scheinman, violin;
Eyvind Kang, viola; Hank Roberts, cello), first formed (and last
recorded) five years ago, to accompany a museum exhibition of Gerhard
Richter's new paintings, which the German artist called the "858
series."
Frisell composed the new album—all 17 tracks—at the
Vermont Studio Center, where his wife, the playful abstract painter
Carole d'Inverno, was on a month-long retreat. The liner notes
quote John Cage and others on the blessings of silence, of a pause
from daily industry, and there is a hushed awe about Sign of
Life, an expression of intense calm. The musicians are
top-notch, in fine form, and the sound—produced by Lee Townsend,
engineered by Adam Munez, mastered by Greg Calbi—is stunningly
vivid. Fred Kaplan, Stereophile.
"The music is transcendent; alternately light and airy, moody
and introspecitve." - Vintage Guitar
The music on Sign of Life: Music for 858 Quartet was loosely
composed by Frisell, and took shape in group rehearsals. 858's
other members include violinist Jenny Scheinman, violist Eyvind
Kang, and cellist Hank Roberts. Recorded at Fantasy Studios in
San Francisco and produced by Lee Townsend, the 17 selections on
this set feel very organic. The album opens with Americana-tinged
themes in the two-part "It's a Long Story" that nod to
country, folk, and even Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready" in
its melody. "Old Times" hints at bluegrass, blues, and
ragtime, but because of the complex interplay between the four
players, reaches far past them into a music that is 858's own. "Friend
of Mine" is another two-part tune; that said, where a pastoral
theme is suggested in part one, a more mischievous one responds
in the second some eight tracks later. Elsewhere, improvised classical
motifs, jazz modes, and folk and other roots musics shimmer through
these compositions, sometimes simultaneously and often spontaneously.... Sign
of Life is a curious, quirky, and deceptively low-key affair
that is musically labyrinthine and ambitious; it's full of gorgeous
spaces, textures, utterly instinctive interplay, and unexpected
delight. Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
Bill Frisell rarely follows conventional musical pathways. The
guitarist has released albums of Americana, world, blues and classical
music—all with a jazz edge. Improvisation is at the heart
of what Frisell does, magically forming loose ideas into compelling
and frequently exigent listening experiences.
Sign of Life, recorded with the virtuosic 858 Quartet—violinist
Jenny Scheinman, violist Eyvind Kang and cellist Hank Roberts—challenges
the
perceptions of a classical quartet. Frisell’s emotive
depth and textural layering push the music toward an artier realm
bordering on contemporary classical, but with a spatial, earthbound
feel. Elements of Aaron Copeland mix with Marvin Gaye,
Eastern rhythms collide with ‘70s-soundtrack-esque passages
and even old-timey traditions make a brief appearance. It’s
a diverse album that reveals new delights with each spin. - Glenn
Burn Silver, Relix
Bill
Frisell and Vinicius Cantuaria - Lagrimas
Mexicanas
 A
collaborative project featuring Brazilian singer-songwriter Cantuaria
(vocals, percussion and guitar) with Frisell (guitars and loops)
on ten co-written original compositions. This is layered,
texturally rich, rhythmically vibrant and melodically engaging
music from two masters set for release in January on Entertainment
One Music in North America and the Naïve label in Europe.
Recorded at Avast in Seattle and Fantasy Studios in Berkeley with
engineers Jason Lehning and Adam Muñoz, mixed at Fantasy
with Muñoz
and mastered at Sterling Sound in New York with Greg Calbi. Produced
by Lee Townsend.
The guitars of Bill Frisell and Vinicius Cantuária
melt together in my car speakers as if impossibly designed to
echo the beauty in this very moment...
For those familiar with these two artists, either individually
or in their previous collaborative incarnations including Frisell's
own Intercontinentals or Cantuária's absorbing Horse
and Fish, their high level of artistic integrity and deep
level of musical simpatico is a given. However, on Lágrimas
Mexicanas their collaboration reaches a milestone with their
first true duet record. In fact, Frisell and Cantuária
are the only two musicians on the entire record, credited with
vocals, percussion, acoustic and electric guitars and loops. The
only outside contribution comes in the form of production from
long time Frisell collaborator; Lee Townsend.
The album opens with the pulsing funk of "Mi Declaracion" before
setting off on it's broader exploration of the common and uncommon
ground shared by jazz, blues, americana and the music of Mexico. The
essence of the album, for me, is captured on "Calle 7" and "Lágrimas
De Amor" (featuring Cantuária's beautifully distinctive
vocal cadence), with the album reaching it's artistic peak on
the atmospheric "Briga De Namorados". The blink-and-you-miss-it
gem of "La Curva" has a simple and almost archetypal
quality, as if the melody has always been there, floating in
the ether. But the sweetest offerings of the collection
are in those moments when it is simply one acoustic guitar and
one electric guitar, Cantuária and Frisell "reacting
to the sound of the thing" as Bill puts it, individual notes
tumbling and fusing, dancing and consorting until they cease
to be separate instruments or in fact instruments at all. The
sweetest offerings are in those moments, where it is simply one
beautiful sound. Hopefully this is only the first of many
sonic expeditions for these two prolific and pioneering artists. - J.
Hayes, No Depression
“With Cantuária's
caressing vocals to the fore, these sublime and seemingly telepathic
musicians produce delicate and intricate music which takes
inspiration from, among others, Mexican ranchera, Afro-Brazilian
rhythms and samba. Sung largely in Spanish with Portuguese
and English interludes, Lagrimas Mexicanas is an album
of quite magnificence that gently insinuates itself on first
hearing and which reveals extra layers and depths on each subsequent
encounter.” - Dave Haslam, R2.
*****
Big Apple bossa, with an arty twist or two
Having made his name sprucing up bossa nova alongside New
York’s
avant-garde set, this isn’t the first time Brazilian ex-pat
Vinicius Cantuária has taken the city’s ethnic pulse,
nor indeed the first time he’s worked with jazz guitarist
Bill Frisell. Lágrimas Mexicanas differs,
however, in being arguably his most empathetic and subtly worked
experiment to date, drawing deep on NYC’s Hispanic heritage,
raking up sparks from the tenderest of melodies. Most of
the album title’s tears are cried in the course of seven-minute
opener Mi Declaración, a dolorous funk requiem
rooted way south of the border and which is a study in contrast,
coming next to the ravishing saudade of Aquela Mulher. Calle
7 takes an airy, bittersweet, and thoroughly contemporary
turn around Brooklyn. But it’s on the title-track
that Cantuária’s swarthy intensity and Frisell’s
spiky intellect really click into a higher gear: it’s brilliantly
propulsive, almost martial groove is peppered with grapeshot
feeback and coils of grimy reverb.
On El Camino, meanwhile, the combination of Frisell’s
out-on-a-limb guitar transmissions and Cantuária’s
wordless, woebegone musings raises the ghost of Ry Cooder’s
Paris, Texas, and harks back to Frisell’s past cinematic
dabblings. In between, the charming acoustic tracks La
Curva and Cafezinho flash glimpses of the
pair’s chemistry and lend the album an uncommon equilibrium. For
this is quite possibly the most perfectly sequenced and consistently
listenable set you’ll hear all year, right down to the
exquisitely blurred vowels of closer Forinfas, wherein
Cantuária approximates a gauche Harry Nilsson. - Brendon
Griffin, Songlines (UK)
Vinicius Cantuária & Bill Frisell: “Lágrimas
Mexicanas” (Entertainment One). After collaborating off
and on for 25 years, this first full-length pairing of Frisell
and the Brazilian singer-songwriter is a study in the jazz guitarist's
ability to thrive in any genre. Frisell's Americana twang and
echoing feedback mixed with twilit Bossa Nova is irresistible. — Chris
Barton, LA
Times
Vinicius Cantuária is one of the leading lights of contemporary
bossa nova; Bill Frisell is an experimental jazz guitarist who
has collaborated with everyone from Elvis Costello to John Zorn.
They’ve worked together before, but “Lágrimas
Mexicanas” represents their first album-length
collaboration, and it’s a quiet stunner. Frisell’s textured, atmospheric
guitars and subtle electronic loops settle into the spaces between Cantuária’s
gentle vocals, acoustic guitar and live percussion, giving these tracks a lush,
cinematic vibe that will bewitch both traditional world music fans and lovers
of global-groove artists like Thievery Corporation and David Byrne. - Metromix
Lágrimas Mexicana is a completely unique collection of
songs that draws heavily from traditional Latin and Brazilian
rhythms, and weds them to 21st century jazz improvisation and
sonic effects in a luxuriant braid of colors, textures, styles,
and languages. Having known one another for 25 years, Brazilian
guitarist, songwriter, and percussionist Vinicius Cantuaria and
American guitarist Bill Frisell have occasionally played on one
another's albums. They have long sought the opportunity to collaborate
on an album-length project. After Cantuaria moved to Brooklyn
from Brazil, it presented itself. Arriving in New York, Cantuaria
was deeply taken with the sheer diversity of the Spanish-speaking
people and sounds he encountered on the streets, from Cubans,
Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Venezuelans, and Mexicans;
they drew him in, and his songwriter's instincts began to address
what he'd heard. Here he plays acoustic guitar, percussion, and
sings in his beautiful airy baritone. Frisell, who understood
and orchestrated Cantuaria's vision, plays electric guitar and
employs loops and efx that meld provocatively yet seamlessly
with these songs. The various languages -- Spanish, Portuguese,
and English -- concern themselves with the various manifestations
of love, from spiritual to carnal to platonic. - by Thom Jurek, All
Music
A 21st-Century Global Concoction
Because Vinicius Cantuaria and Bill Frisell share
so many traits -- a love of jazz/indigenous folk hybrids, a taste
for refinement and restraint that doesn't exclude either acoustic
finger-picking or electronic technology, and a preference for delicate,
sophisticated textures -- Lagrimas Mexicanas is a potently
understated, multifaceted gem. Emusic.com
Upcoming Projects
Lee has recently finished producing or is currently at work on these albums:
Floratone II with his collaborators Tucker Martine, Matt Chamberlain and Bill Frisell. Recorded in Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles, it features guest appearances by Mike Elizondo, Ron Miles, Eyvind Kang and Jon Brion. It is scheduled for release in March, 2012 on Savoy Records.
David Soler¹s Denga Botanicas - The debut album from Barcelona-based guitarist and composer David Soler with his band Denga, a brilliant group of New York and Iberian musicians Erik Deutsch (keyboards), Ben Rubin (bass), Borja Barrueta (drums and percussion) and Marc Pino (marimba and vibes).
The material includes original compositions by Soler, pieces shaped and constructed from group improvisations and reductions for small ensemble of orchestral works by Stravinsky, Bartok and Messiaen. Engineered by Adam Muñoz.
Other upcoming recordings include new albums by Carrie Rodriguez, Quentin Dujardin and the Real Vocal String Quartet.
Songtone and Carrie Rodriguez
After many years of collaborating on various projects including Carrie
Rodriguez’s two most recent albums - “Love and Circumstance” and “We
Still Love Our Country” - Songtone and Carrie have decided
to enter into a management relationship. We are thrilled to
be working with her on a more extensive basis. And we are in
the midst of planning her next recording. So stay tuned for
more details on that.
Carrie
Rodriguez
 Carrie
Rodriguez' new album, "Love
and Circumstance", produced by Lee, has been released
on Opus Music. It features interpretations of favorite songs
by such illustrious songwriters as Lucinda Williams, Buddy
and Julie Miller, Gillian Welch, M Ward, Richard Thompson,
Townes Van Zandt, Merle Haggard, Little Village, Hank Williams,
Sandrine, Carrie's aunt Eva Garza and her father, David Rodriguez.
The album showcases Carrie's band - Hans Holzen (guitars),
Kyle Kegerrels (bass) and Eric Platz (drums, percussion)
- along with guests Greg Leisz, Aoife O'Donovan, Buddy Miller,
Bill Frisell and Doug Wamble. It was engineered by Jason
Lehning at Opus Studio and Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, Ca.
"...simply an understated triumph.
Grade: A " - Glide Magazine (Jun
07, 2010)
“Carrie Rodriguez proves herself an astute interpreter
of other people's material via her latest - and best album
to date.” - Lee Zimmerman/BLURT (April
21, 2010)
“...a case of the right album
at the right time.” - Village
Records (04/02/10)
“...her latest absolutely floored me. It’s a
dozen covers so skillfully done that some of the original
artists might be tempted to enter the witness protection
program. If this isn’t her breakthrough album
there’s no justice!” -
Phoenix Brown & Lars Vigo/Off-Center Views (May
1, 2010)
“This is an album that you do not want to miss.”
- NoDepression.net (02/04/10)
“Cover albums by artists known for writing their
own material can be double-edged swords. It's a tricky
balance to put your own stamp on material that others
have created without losing the original's unique qualities.
Singer/songwriter Rodriguez gets it right, though... Lee
Townsend's classy production and veteran players such
as pedal/lap steel master Greg Leisz , along with Bill
Frisell, keep the sound fresh and vibrant.... Love
and Circumstance is beautifully conceived and passionately
performed.” - by Hal Horowitz, All Music
Guide
“Albums of cover songs are curious things. An artist
can often reveal more in the choice and interpretation
of someone else's song than in an original composition
-- a fact that comes to light in brilliant effect with Love
and Circumstance, the new album from Carrie Rodriguez.
Highly recommended.” - Direct Current
“I’ve really pretty much had it
with covers records — but even I have
to admit that not all of them are created equal,
and very, very few of them boast pedigrees as stellar
as Carrie Rodriguez’s Love and Circumstance...
The result is a collection that does a wonderful
job of paying tribute to some of roots rock’s
leading lights. The band is marvelous, as you’d
expect, and Rodriguez’s vocals have the sweetness
and fine texture of dark honey. In fact, she damn
near makes these songs her own... the ever-so-slightly
burred edges of her voice hint at a spiritual depth
beyond her 32 years, and musically, Love and
Circumstance has more to offer than your typical
covers project. - Jeff Giles, CD Review
Carrie Rodriguez doesn’t just cover the love songs
in her fourth album, she inhabits them. Rodriguez’s
voice is arresting whether she’s slowing down Lucinda
Williams’s “Steal Your Love,” giving
a fresh interpretation to Richard Thompson’s “Waltzing’s
for Dreamers,” or belting it out on “Big Love” (Little
Village). This is masterful musicianship, with primacy
given to the guitars, which blend beautifully yet inhabit
different spaces within the songs, so that the character
of each—tremolo, acoustic, electric, tenor—shines.
There are lovely touches on every cut ... A stunner.
(Ninth Street Opus) - Celine Keating, Acoustic
Guitar
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Carrie
Rodriguez and Ben Kyle – We Still Love Our
Country
 Austin
singer Carrie Rodriguez collaborates with Ben Kyle, the lead singer
from the Minneapolis band, Romantica, on versions of their favorite
country songs, including “If I Needed You”, “You’re
Still On My Mind”, “Unwed Fathers”, “My
Baby’s Gone” and “Love Hurts”. With
Hans Holzen (guitars), Luke Jacobs (pedal steel), Kyle Kegerreis
(bass) and Ricky Fataar (drums, percussion). Engineered by
David Luke and Produced by Carrie and Ben with Lee Townsend.
Trailer - "The Great Flood" from Bill Morrison on Vimeo.
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Updated
12-15-11
