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Jazz Articles about Bill Frisell
Gui Duvignau: Baden
by Dan Bilawsky
Gui Duvignau has had Baden Powell's sound in his sights for some time now. Born in France and raised in Brazil, the rising-star bassist delved deeply into that legendary Brazilian guitarist's work at the behest of several six-stringer friends. And as he studied guitar too, Duvignau came under the sway of Powell's advanced harmonic concepts, personalized technique and keen ability to skirt easy categorization by blending classical stylings, jazz sensibilities and a broad mixture of Brazilian traditions. Having then performed ...
Continue ReadingSkúli Sverrisson With Bill Frisell: Strata
by Ian Patterson
A meeting of minds, of hearts and of souls. Strata may be the first recording of the duo of Icelandic bassist Skuli Sverrisson and guitarist Bill Frisell, but so attuned are the musicians to each other's wavelengths, and so spellbinding their common language, that you could be forgiven for thinking they had played in this format for donkey's years. Originally a limited edition, vinyl-only release in 2018, Strata is now available for the first time on digital platforms, which is ...
Continue ReadingAndrew Cyrille: The News
by Ian Patterson
There is no denying the significance of Andrew Cyrille's oft-cited association with Cecil Taylor, not to mention his collaborations with other avant-garde luminaries such as Walt Dickerson, Ahmed Abdul Malik and Marion Brown. However, such reductive narratives tend to overlook Cyrille's own, fairly extensive output as a leader, beginning with What About? (BYG Actuel, 1971). Whilst there have sometimes been long gaps between his records, the Brooklyn-born drummer has struck a rich vein of form in his autumnal years on ...
Continue ReadingAndrew Cyrille Quartet: The News
by Mario Calvitti
Con una carriera che attraversa gli ultimi 60 anni di storia del jazz, dall'alto dei suoi 80 anni (compiuti un paio di mesi dopo le sessioni di registrazione di questo disco nel 2019), il veterano batterista Andrew Cyrille non ha alcun timore di mettersi ancora in gioco, come aveva già dimostrato pochi anni fa con il notevole The Declaration of Musical Independence (titolo decisamente programmatico per il suo esordio da leader per l'etichetta tedesca), di cui questo nuovo album rappresenta ...
Continue ReadingLyle Mays: Eberhard
by Mario Calvitti
La prematura scomparsa di Lyle Mays nel febbraio 2020 ha privato il mondo di uno straordinario musicista, troppo poco considerato al di fuori dell'importantissimo contributo da lui dato all'interno del Pat Metheny Group, dove ha rappresentato l'ideale complemento del chitarrista dal 1977 al 2010 prima di decidere di abbandonare definitivamente la scena musicale per dedicarsi professionalmente al mondo del software, un altro dei suoi numerosi interessi. Se i periodi trascorsi a fianco di Pat Metheny ne hanno ...
Continue ReadingLyle Mays: Eberhard
by John Kelman
When pianist, keyboardist, synthesist and composer Lyle Mays passed away at the far too young age of 66 following a long battle with a recurring (but, to this day, undisclosed) illness in February 2020, it was a major loss for his fans. It was an especially deep body blow to those who'd followed his decades-long work as performer and compositional collaborator with Pat Metheny in the guitarist's critically and commercially acclaimed Pat Metheny Group. Mays had been largely ...
Continue ReadingSkuli Sverrisson with Bill Frisell: Strata
by Mario Calvitti
Approda finalmente in formato digitale (CD e piattaforme di streaming) l'album frutto della recente collaborazione tra il bassista islandese Skúli Sverrisson e il chitarrista Bill Frisell, già precedentemente pubblicato nel 2018 esclusivamente su vinile in una edizione a tiratura limitata per collezionisti andata rapidamente esaurita nonostante il prezzo non propriamente a buon mercato. Ora che il lavoro può godere di una diffusione più ampia potrà essere apprezzato da una platea più vasta, come sicuramente merita. Viene spontaneo ...
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