Jazz Articles about Bill Frisell

Bill Frisell: Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian

by Matthew Miller
October 15, 2006

It's fitting that the title of this disc contains only the names of its participants. After all, who needs a catchy title to sell a Bill Frisell album with Ron Carter and Paul Motian on it? More than anyone from his generation, Frisell has succeeded in cultivating a sound so distinct that it defies comparison. The guitar becomes a wholly new instrument in his hands. Organ-like in its pulsing vibrato or conjuring vast, open spaces with sustained, ...

Bill Frisell: Why So Stressed Out?

by Jason West
September 26, 2006

Bill Frisell is well suited to Seattle's leisurely pace. The Grammy-winning guitarist and composer moved here in 1989 and immediately took to the area. “I had been living in New York for ten years before I came here, Frisell said when I spoke to him last month. “I was sort of looking for an atmosphere where I could concentrate better and write my own music, a more meditative place.Unlike the high-strung, overcrowded populace of New York City, Seattle ...

Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian: Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian

by John Kelman
August 24, 2006

Despite his deep harmonic language and highly evolved personal sound, enigmatic guitarist Bill Frisell has often been criticized for musical choices that appear to ignore his jazz roots. But he treats jazz simply as one part of a larger musical continuum where Thelonious Monk and Hank Williams can harmoniously coexist. Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian presents him at his jazziest, yet it's still unequivocally a Bill Frisell record, with the broad scope and quirky mannerisms that have defined his ...

Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian: Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian

by Troy Collins
August 23, 2006

This self-titled debut by an all-star trio of acknowledged masters was recorded live in the studio with no rehearsal. Guitarist Bill Frisell has played with both bassist Ron Carter and drummer Paul Motian on numerous occasions, but never have all three joined forces before.

Carter's rapport with Frisell was established years ago when the first played together in drummer Joey Baron's Baron Down band. Frisell was a charter member of Motian's longstanding trio with saxophonist Joe Lovano, which ...

Bill Frisell: Further East/Further West

by Tom Greenland
May 14, 2006

Bill Frisell Further East/Further West Nonesuch Records 2005

Bill Frisell is an exceptional musician because he has the ability to mine the usual guitaristic textures without getting caught up in clichés, to unearth original ore in the same old vein. Further East/Further West (available only in download form) is a companion album to 2005's East/West, culling material from the same two gigs: four-night stands at the Village Vanguard (December, 2003) and Oakland's Yoshi's (May, ...

Imagine: The Bill Frisell Trio

by AAJ Staff
November 23, 2005

The Bill Frisell Trio The Barbican The London Jazz Festival London, England November 15, 2005

Every once in a while a performer can get away with what happened when Bill Frisell performed at the 2005 London Jazz Festival at the magnificent Barbican, but not often. Appearing with violinist Jenny Scheinman and guitarist Greg Leisz, he blew the rules away with a wave of his hand.Bill Frisell has produced a long line ...

Bill Frisell: East/West

by AAJ Staff
September 5, 2005

Though he's passed through several phases during the last two decades, guitarist Bill Frisell has manifested an uncanny ability to transport listeners across gaps in time, space, and style. His jump-cut playing with Naked City did this in a blunt and abrupt fashion; recordings from his country-tinged period tugged at the very roots of American string music; and his 2003 Nonesuch recording, The Intercontinentals, leapt boldly across international boundaries.

In a similar fashion, the double live set East/West, assembled from ...