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Bill Frisell: Big Sur
by Ian Patterson
Big Sur, the mountainous coastal region of California lends itself to various geographical definitions--it isn't easy to pin down definitively. So, it was an inspired idea by the Monterey Jazz Festival to put guitarist Bill Frisell in a cabin in the area and commission music, because with Frisell, musical borders are delightfully amorphous. The suite that Frisell premiered at the 2012 MJF provided the blueprint for this album, which inhabits a strangely alluring space somewhere between modern chamber and country ...
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by John Kelman
Most, if not all, musicians value the relationships--both musical and friendship--that they build over the years, but few are as loyal as guitarist Bill Frisell. One look at his various releases over the past couple of decades and it becomes instantly clear that, once he has established a successful working and personal relationship with another musician, he rarely ever calls on anyone else. With the exception of Rudy Royston--who, since first collaborating with the guitarist in 2007, has regularly split ...
Continue ReadingBill Frisell: Live Download Series #14-17
by John Kelman
DS#001-013 | DS#014-017 In a previous All About Jazz article, the first thirteen installments of guitarist Bill Frisell's remarkable Live Download Series were reviewed. Beginning in 2009, Frisell and Songline/Tonefield Productions began making available high quality, download-only (but in formats including 320K MP3 and lossless FLAC) live performances dating as far back as 1989, when the guitarist was on the road to support his Elektra/Musician debut, Before We Were Born, released the same year. What has made this ...
Continue ReadingBill Frisell: Live Download Series #1-13
by John Kelman
DS#001-013 | DS#014-017One of the biggest problems facing contemporary jazz musicians is that they often have far more projects on the go than could ever be recorded and released commercially by conventional record labels--even small and relatively responsive indie labels. Special projects abound, or personnel changes for a tour are forced when members of a regular group are unavailable, the plight of the 21st century working musician being how to remain viable and available. Of course, it's not ...
Continue ReadingFloratone: Floratone II
by AAJ Italy Staff
Il secondo capitolo del progetto Floratone, giunto a cinque anni di distanza dal precedente, ne conferma le linee generali, a cominciare dal processo di realizzazione che rappresenta tuttora la sua caratteristica principale. Anche qui il punto di partenza è costituito da una sessione di registrazione in studio che ha visto protagonisti Bill Frisell e il batterista Matt Chamberlain improvvisare spontaneamente in duo, senza niente di predeterminato. I nastri contenenti le diverse ore di musica che ne sono usciti sono stati ...
Continue ReadingBill Frisell: Helsinki, Finland, August 29, 2012
by Anthony Shaw
Bill FrisellHelsinki FestivalHelsinki, FInlandAugust 29, 2012 It's hard to find a summer festival that is not critically dependent on the weather for that essential vibe. As such, August's Helsinki Festival stands as good a chance as any for success, with the main stage located a half-mile from the central station on a bank beside an inlet of the Baltic, where 600 people can sit in relative comfort under a 40 foot high, custom built ...
Continue ReadingBill Frisell and Bill Morrison: Columbus, OH, March 31, 2012
by Mark Corroto
Bill Frisell TrioThe Great FloodThurber Theater, Ohio State UniversityColumbus, OHMarch 31, 2012Sometimes you can hear a song lyric for years, but it is not until it is sung just so that it hits home. Bill Frisell's Trio presented an original soundtrack to a film by director Bill Morrison about the great Mississippi flood of 1927 at The Ohio State University's Thurber Theater on Saturday, March 31, 2012. When the guitarist quoted Oscar Hammerstein ...
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