Search - Bill Frisell :: History, Mystery

Cinematographic soundscapes.

India | 05/13/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Trying to pigeonhole Bill Frisell is a bit similar to abstract algebra or dwarf-tossing: it's not quite as easy as you might think. Even though the guy is obviously rooted in jazz, there's so much more his music encompasses.

If you had to pick one musician from the past 20 years who has really made a difference to the way we perceive sound, the guitarist Bill Frisell would surely come close to the top of the list. His unmistakeable electric guitar technique, in which ambient colour-wash effects are used to create dreamy soundscapes, often set to the contrastingly edgy, off-kilter, rhythms associated with the New York jazz avant-garde, would alone be sufficient to ensure a place in the history books.

Bill Frisell became one of the most influential guitarists ever for a style that initially sounded like a cross between a twangy '50s rocker, Jimi Hendrix, Ry Cooder and a tape-recording playing backwards.

Those might be distinctive qualities, but beneath all that, Frisell can be a resourceful, more or less straightahead jazz guitarist, and a full-on blues player, or a fastidious chamber-music explorer.

They're standard components of any Frisell project, history and mystery. Here they're presented as a subject rather than as a given. It's a two-CD job, featuring an octet incorporating strings, horns and reeds alongside the familiar rhythm section of Kenny Wollesen and Tony Scherr.

Plus, much of the material arose from collaborations with Seattle artist Jim Woodring.

This is the Bill Frisell who makes great soundtrack music; the one who rejoices in sieving the Hot Club de Paris out of Thelonious Monk. Essential for established Frisell's fan. Not a bad place to develop the taste.

"Bill Frisell with strings" might sound like a fantasy combination, but here the guitarist is performing with an octet containing violin, cello and viola. And in a spectral, oddball way, the results are often beautiful.

As is frequently the case with Frisell, the music here is a mélange of numerous idioms, from hillbilly to modern classical, with overall a wistful, elegiac mood (which is also typical of him).

It all seems to come to life on Thelonious Monk's "Jackie-ing", on which this strange but likeable band swing along like be-boppers from Mars

"Though guitarist Bill Frisell can seem indecisive in person, he has the surest touch as a musician. That is true for his playing, where he can invest a single note with meaning, and it's true in the way he organises his music and musicians. That slow response denotes a genuine thoughtfulness. And Frisell has rethought his ensemble lineup - a kind of roots-jazz-classical chamber hybrid, though with none of the hang-ups that might imply. The octet, recorded mainly live here, are particularly good at ultra-slow tempos on numbers such as Sam Cooke's smouldering "A Change Is Gonna Come", and the drawling groove of "Struggle", which foregrounds the string trio of Hank Roberts (cello), Jenny Scheinman (violin) and Eyvind Kang (viola).

The 30-track, double CD is studded with gems such as "Baba Drame" (by Boubacar Traoré), "Waltz for Baltimore" and "Monroe", appropriately reminiscent of Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman".. ".Guardian

Artist Bill Frisell : guitar (with Eybind Kang - viola; Ron Miles - cornet; Hank Roberts - cello; Jenny Scheinman - violin; Tony Scherr - bass; Greg Tardy - clarinet / tenor sax; Kenny Wollesen - drums)

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Music for grownups

eliot gardenstreet | Phoenix, AZ | 06/23/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Miles Davis once said that the secret to playing jazz was capturing the feel of children's rhymes like "Patty Cake." Bill Frisell captures it perfectly, and his music is simple, playful, and fun. It's also serious and complex. No contemporary jazz artist (other Keith Jarrett) puts me in touch with the poignancy of life the way Bill does, with the sweetness of being alive, with delight in what's transient and beautiful in the face of great loss and inevitable death. Bill (like Keith) understands how important it is to keep jazz connected to its roots in blues and American popular song. ("All Blues" would be a good title for Bill's entire oeuvre.) I think this is why I resonate more to his music than to trickier cutting edge jazz, which sometimes sounds like an unfun puzzle. History, Mystery has the kind of artistic scope of Blues Dream, but it's even larger, more natural, and more satisfying. It contains echoes of The Intercontinentals, but sounds deeper, less concepty, and more settled. The pairing of guitar and violin has an illustrious history: Rheinhardt and Grapelli, McLaughlin and Goodman, McLaughlin and Shankar, Abercrombie and Feldman. Add Frisell and Scheinman to that list."

Miniatures writ large

Anthony Cooper | Louisville, KY United States | 07/22/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Bill Frisell leads an octet over the 30 mostly short songs that make up "History, Mystery". He has a very good group -- Ron Miles on trumpet, Greg Hardy on sax, Jenny Schienman, Eyvind Kang & Hank Roberts on strings, Tony Scherr on bass, and Kenny Wollesen drumming. The songs generally have a creative dreaminess about them. The closest touchstone to this CD is Frisell's "Have A Little Faith". One thing contributing to dreaminess is that many of the songs show up more than once, so there's 40 seconds of "Answer #1" then later 110 seconds of "Answer #2". For all of the interesting miniatures, the longer songs with longer solos stand out -- "Baba Drame", "A Change Is Gonna Come", "Struggle", and "Waltz For Baltimore". Greg Hardy's solo in "A Change Is Gonna Come" is a highlight of the CD. Given that this CD has more players, Frisell's guitar is downplayed and he also doesn't step on his distortion pedal. It's more about Frisell the bandleader and composer and not the guitar hero. At 90 minutes, it's a long CD, but it doesn't seem long, which is a compliment. Bill Frisell fans should absolutely pick this one up. Anyone curious about Frisell would find this a good starting place as well.

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