Jazz Articles about Bill Frisell

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Bill Frisell: Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian

by John Barron
March 18, 2007

The old saying, you can't judge a book by its cover, certainly applies to the latest release by eclectic guitarist Bill Frisell on the Nonesuch label. The untitled recording--actually co-led by Frisell, pioneering bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Paul Motian--delivers an empathetic commentary on an expansive American musical landscape. What is pleasantly surprising--or perhaps reassuring--is that this is accomplished by the unlikely combination of Frisell and Carter who would seem, on paper anyway, to be a most unusual grouping of ...

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Jack DeJohnette - Bill Frisell: The Elephant Sleeps But Still Remembers

by AAJ Italy Staff
November 13, 2006

Quando due artisti importanti, che portano ben in vista le stimmate della genialità, decidono di incontrarsi non ci si può aspettare meno che un capolavoro. E spesso si rimane delusi. Ma in questo caso la premessa non viene disattesa e il risultato è eccellente, una piccola gemma che meriterebbe una distribuzione in grande stile che speriamo la coraggiosa Egea sappia assicurare. Il batterista Jack DeJohnette e il chitarrsita Bill Frisell si conoscono e si stimano da tanto tempo, hanno avuto ...

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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, ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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, ...