Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Bill Frisell: Harmony
Bill Frisell: Harmony
ByThe album's overall tonal quality is epitomized by one of the recording's more prominent pieces "Deep Dead Blue." Constructed around poetic lyrics by Costello, the song descends into delicious, blues-tinged rumination, delineated by Frisell's notes which hang like honeyed drops of melancholy, melting with rather than merely accompanying his bandmates' vocals and instrumental contributions.
Particularly poignant here and throughout is the vocal style of Petra Hadendaughter of the late bass legend Charlie Haden whose elongated, minimalist sound meshes fluidly with Frisell's highly attenuated approach which does not so much fill space with sound as utilize notes to shape space into a web that captures listeners with its deceptive simplicity and originality.
Another illustrative piece is the haunting rendition of the late 1800s American folksong "Hard Times," which was first recorded in 1905 and serves as a window into Frisell's progressivist angle of social consciousness. Other notable selections include Charlie Haden's "There is a Dream"; the Billy Strayhorn classic "Lush Life;" and a gorgeous, truncated version of "Where Have All the Flower's Gone," that once again demonstrates Haden and Frisell's ability to render even extremely well-recognized tunes to a potent distillate.
An estimable Blue Note Records debut from a master musician that expands into new territory, Harmony is a delight.
Track Listing
Everywhere; God’s Wing’d Horse; Fifty Years; Hard Times; Deep Dead Blue; There in a Dream; Lonesome; On the Street Where You Live; How Many Miles?; Lush Life; Honest Man; Red River Valley; Curiosity; Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
Personnel
Bill Frisell
guitar, electricBill Frisell: guitar; Petra Haden: voice; Hank Roberts: cello, voice; Luke Bergman: baritone guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, voice.
Album information
Title: Harmony | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Blue Note Records
< Previous
Sonny Rollins & Miles Davis
Comments
About Bill Frisell
Instrument: Guitar, electric
Related Articles | Concerts | Albums | Photos | Similar To