Jazz Articles about Bill Frisell

Bill Frisell: East/West

by John Kelman
August 27, 2005

Good music is where you find it. Sometimes it's clear as day because the original is so great that there's simply no doubt; other times it can be obscured by poor interpretation--but dig deep enough and unmistakable qualities are revealed. Over the past 25 years, guitarist Bill Frisell has built a reputation as a significant composer on albums like '94's This Land and '01's Blues Dream. But he's equally known as an astute interpreter of others' music, as on '93's ...

Bill Frisell: East/West

by Paul Olson
August 24, 2005

Bill Frisell's new two-disc live album East/West is the guitarist's tenth Nonesuch release. While it must be stated emphatically that there's not a terrible album among those recordings--or, really, in all of Frisell's discography--a newcomer to his work might be at a loss as to where to begin. I'll go out on a limb here and start things off by stating that East/West is the perfect introduction to Frisell's work. It's a veritable Rosetta Stone of just what Frisell does: ...

Bill Frisell: East/West

by Renato Wardle
August 22, 2005

Jazz musicians are relentlessly struggling to find a unique sound on their particular instruments. However, only a very few can lay claim to discovering their own voice, let alone engendering an entire genre. Bill Frisell is one such artist. His style of jazz exists at the crossroads between the disparate idioms of jazz, blues, and country. While many artists endeavor to be on the “cutting edge of jazz, Bill Frisell has withdrawn even further into his own realm. His latest ...

Cuong Vu: It's Mostly Residual

by John Kelman
August 14, 2005

Since relocating from Seattle in '94, trumpeter Cuong Vu has emerged as an important voice on the New York Downtown Scene. While his reputation has continued to grow with solo releases including '00's Bound and '01's Come Play With Me, his four-year relationship with jazz megastar Pat Metheny has seen his name grow familiar to an ever-expanding audience.

Vu has appeared on Pat Metheny Group's last two recordings--'02's Speaking of Now and this year's ambitious The Way Up--and two lengthy ...

Bill Frisell: Richter 858

by Mark Corroto
January 24, 2005

Commissioned to create music for a book project on the German painter Gerhard Richter, guitarist Bill Frisell opened his book of guitar techniques to enhance the painter's art.

Given instructions and eight Richter images, Frisell composed pieces for the 858 Strings Trio of Jenny Scheinman, Eyvind Kang, and Hank Roberts, a unit which can be heard on Frisell's 2004 release, Unspeakable. These eight pieces were recorded live in the studio without overdubs, remixing or post-production change. Like a ...

Bill Frisell: Richter 858

by John Kelman
January 21, 2005

For those who think, based on recent recordings, that guitarist Bill Frisell has lost his edge, two new recordings should go a long way to restoring faith in Frisell's inestimable abilities as a composer and performer. They also assert that, like them or not, the Americana, world music, and groove-centric concerns of his most recent Nonesuch releases are by no means the work of a man resting on his laurels. Frisell has always had a voracious musical appetite, as content ...

Bill Frisell: Richter 858

by Dan McClenaghan
January 11, 2005

Richter 858 is a commissioned work, setting guitarist Bill Frisell up with the job of creating music to accompany eight paintings for a book project on German painter Gerhard Richter. One of Richter's main techniques is to use a squeegee to smear paint over an aluminum surface. Frisell captures this sound--the squeak and squeal, the shrillness--perfectly in the disc's opening, a sound that gives the initial impression that one is in for one of those “daunting" listening experiences. But things ...