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Vinicius Cantuária / Bill Frisell: Lagrimas Mexicanas
by Mark F. Turner
The fruit of Lagrimas Mexicanas is one born of mutual respect and collaboration between two distinct music icons. Bill Frisell's trajectory has spanned the paths of jazz and Americana, becoming one of the most respected guitarists in the business. A fine guitarist in his own right, but more noted for his heartthrob vocals, Brazilian singer-songwriter Vinicius Cantuária has released a number of popular recordings and worked with names ranging from Marc Ribot to Ryuichi Sakamoto. Influenced by New ...
Continue ReadingBill Frisell At The Stone
by AAJ Staff
Bill FrisellThe StoneNew York CitySeptember 7, 2010 Bill Frisell has captured the imagination of music fans of many types, since his first records in the 1980s. He is the world's favorite alternative take on guitar. Yet, he may be, instead, the next step in guitar rather than another side of the very popular instrument. Arguably, very little music of originality has come forth since the beginning of the '80s, but Frisell is one beacon ...
Continue ReadingBill Frisell: Beautiful Dreamers
by Troy Collins
Heralded as a sonic innovator since his seminal work for ECM Records in the mid-eighties, Grammy winning, perennial Best Jazz Guitarist award recipient Bill Frisell has developed a rich body of work over the past two decades, guaranteeing him a place in the history books alongside his heroes Jim Hall and Jimi Hendrix. Fastidiously documented by Elektra/Nonesuch since the early nineties, Frisell's twenty plus releases for the label encompass everything from soundtracks for silent films to genre-straddling collaborations with Nashville ...
Continue ReadingBill Frisell: Beautiful Dreamers
by John Kelman
Most people slow down as they get older but, in the case of musicians, there are those who seem to actually step up the pace. Bill Frisell may be approaching 60, but he's busier than ever--so much so, in fact, that the intrepid guitarist has left his record label of over twenty years (Nonesuch), because it was unprepared to keep up with his need to release more than one album per year. Beautiful Dreamers is Frisell's first Savoy Jazz release ...
Continue ReadingJohn Zorn / George Lewis / Bill Frisell: More News For Lulu
by Glenn Astarita
More News For Lulu was this trio's second album and, despite being recorded in 1989 and originally released on hatOLOGY Records (the father label to HatHut Records) in 1992, its crisp attack and buoyant execution holds up rather immaculately with this overdue reissue. A hybrid studio/live program, the artists effortlessly work through bop, and swing motifs with slight nods to abstract expressionism in choice spots. And the overall dynamic is abetted by the record label's pristine audio processing. ...
Continue ReadingBill Frisell: Disfarmer
by Joel Roberts
Guitarist Bill Frisell's latest foray outside jazz into folk-country-Americana is a soundtrack of sorts to an exhibit of photographs by Michael Disfarmer, an eccentric and curmudgeonly portrait artist who recorded stark, stunning black and white images of his fellow townsfolk in rural Arkansas in the 1940s and '50s. Most of the 26 tracks here are sparse, evocative sketches or snapshots, with Frisell and his string quartet of longtime cohorts--Greg Liesz on steel guitar and mandolin, Jenny Scheinman ...
Continue ReadingBill Frisell: Solos and Films of Buster Keaton
by John Kelman
In a career which is in 2009 entering its fourth decade in the public eye, guitarist Bill Frisell has fashioned a trajectory like no other. As comfortable playing Hank Williams country tunes as he is a Ron Carter blues, the guitarist has created such a distinctive sound that, even when he's playing a plain old G chord, it's immediately recognizable. Idiosyncratic and able to take even the most conventional idea on its side, Frisell has gradually built a ...
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