His new Disfarmer Project, a suite of as-yet- untitled compositions intended for a future CD release that are inspired by the American photographer known as Disfarmer.
An eccentric, reclusive man, Disfarmer, born Mike Meyers, became an outsider art figure revered for his stark Depression-era portraits of farmers and families around Heber Springs, Ark. The odd details surrounding his life seem pulled from a Tom Waits song -- his aging into a mysterious Boo Radley figure, his chosen moniker, which came as a reaction to learning his last name translated as “farmer" in German.
Projections of Disfarmer's portraits flanked either side of the stage as Frisell led frequent collaborators Viktor Krauss, Jenny Scheinman and Greg Leisz through rustic instrumentals that offered a ghostly window into the lives of the photographer's subjects.
On screens divided into panels recalling stained glass, faces from Disfarmer's time morphed into one another as Frisell's intricate compositions shifted seamlessly from one mood to the next, coloring the black and white portraits.
At times Scheinman's keening violin gave the compositions the feel of a hill country chamber recital, while in other instances Frisell's biting tone took the evening into a more unfettered place, especially as he turned to a number of electronic effects at his side.
