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Skuli Sverrisson with Bill Frisell: Strata
by Karl Ackermann
On their two previous third-season releases, Andy Zimmerman's Half Light and Lionel Loueke's Close Your Eyes (both 2018), Newvelle Records pushed the envelope just a bit away from the deeply melodic formula that they have favored across seventeen albums to date. While those vinyl releases incorporated more elements of improvisational complexity, they were hardly foraying into the avant-garde. On Strata the duo of bassist Skúli Sverrisson and guitarist Bill Frisell bring us back to the purely melodic model.
Continue ReadingSkuli Sverrisson: Strata
by Franz A. Matzner
A contemplative affair, Skuli Sverisson and Bill Frisell's Strata unfolds like a slow burning fire. The hovering notes and somber guitar lines evolve gradually, emerging like wind carved monuments visible through a hovering mist to reveal a stark, melancholic, and aridly beautiful landscape. The album demonstrates a fluid, masterful interaction between the two artists and maintains a distinct, consistent sound across its 10 selections. Throughout, economical choices sinuously articulate the work's overall pathos. With nothing wasted, the emotive ...
Continue ReadingBill Frisell: Music IS
by Ian Patterson
Widely touted as Bill Frisell's second solo recording, and his first since the darkly introspective Ghost Town (Nonesuch, 2000), Music IS is, in fact, the guitarist's third, with the oddly overlooked Silent Comedy seemingly having slipped by most folk. That outing, on John Zorn's Tzadik label, was unique in Frisell's discography for being freely improvised, whereas Music IS revisits and reworks classic Frisell compositions, all the way back to his first ECM recordings as leader in 1983/4. This set of ...
Continue ReadingBill Frisell, Camille Bertault And More New Releases
by Ludovico Granvassu
In episode 18 we feature an exclusive interview with rising French superstar Camille Bertault in advance of her New York concerts to promote her album Pas de géant and the preview Bill Frisell's upcoming Music Is, an instant classic which marks his return to the solo format and some of his earlier solo work. Also in the playlist, recent releases by Jon Irabagon, Rosa Brunello, Jakob Bro and Aka Moon. Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted ...
Continue ReadingBill Frisell: Music IS
by Maurizio Comandini
Benvenuti nel 'Piccolo Mondo Antico' di Bill Frisell. Un mondo che a ben guardare non è antico proprio per niente, anzi è più moderno che mai e sa indicare la strada a chi ha voglia di percorrerla. Un mondo che riesce a non farsi mai penetrare dalla meschinità che troppo spesso pervade la vita dei giorni nostri, un luminoso universo sospeso nel vuoto, vaporoso e arguto, capace di titillare con sapienza la nostra memoria. In questo modo i nostri ricordi ...
Continue ReadingBill Frisell: Music IS
by John Kelman
The tradition of solo jazz guitar recordings is a long one, with guitarists like Johnny Smith, Al Viola, George Van Eps, Lenny Breau and Joe Pass demonstrating just how far a mere six (in some cases, seven) strings could be taken on their own as far back as the 1950s. Subsequent guitar soloists like John Abercrombie and Ralph Towner went even further by, at times, taking advantage of the recording studio's facility to overdub layers of guitar to create even ...
Continue ReadingBill Frisell: Hurricane Harvey Relief: A Compilation From His Live Download Series
by John Kelman
Bill Frisell Hurricane Harvey Relief: A Compilation From His Live Download Series BillFrisell.com 2017 Many musicians may use their celebrity to speak out about issues that matter to them, but only a relatively precious few are actually prepared to put the time, effort and money where their mouths are, creating contexts where much- needed funds can be raised to support those causes. It's even better when they do so in a way that rewards fans ...
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