Jazz Articles about Bill Frisell

About Bill Frisell

Album Review

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 ...

Album Review

Bill Frisell: Music IS

Read "Music IS" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
June 29, 2018

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 ...

Radio & Podcasts

Bill Frisell, Camille Bertault And More New Releases

by Ludovico Granvassu
March 28, 2018

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 ...

Album Review

Bill Frisell: Music IS

Read "Music IS" reviewed by Maurizio Comandini

by Maurizio Comandini
March 21, 2018

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 ...

Album Review

Bill Frisell: Music IS

by John Kelman
March 9, 2018

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 ...

Download Review

Bill Frisell: Hurricane Harvey Relief: A Compilation From His Live Download Series

by John Kelman
October 1, 2017

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 ...

In Pictures

Garana Jazz Festival 2017

by Nedici Dragoslav
September 19, 2017

All About Jazz's Nenad Georgievski wrote this about the 2017 Garana Jazz Festival... “Running from the 6-9th of July, the 21st edition of the Garana Jazz Festival saw the jazz world descend on its location near the Garana village, high in the Semenic Mountains of Romania. Obviously, the artistic credibility and the creative energy were the hallmarks of this year's edition as the festival boasted enormous audience attendance during the four days. This year the festival presented a ...