Search Results for: bill frisell

Feb 17 2019

The answer is yes, I will use my birthday as an excuse to post more Bill Frisell videos

 

I am older than I care to be, but the music of Bill Frisell will always me feel young and free and appreciative of this gift of life, no matter what I age I may be.

Here’s one from his Big Sur recording…

I still adore that album.  I’ve been on something of a Disfarmer kick lately, but I think maybe it’s time to get Big Sur back into heavy rotation.

Some dude recorded video in Morro Bay, California, and set it to the Frisell tune “Egg Radio.”

“Egg Radio” is one of my favorite Frisell compositions.  I prefer the version from 1996’s Quartet.  It’s a bit more laid back than the video’s version, which comes from 1998’s Gone, Just Like a Train.  But I remember when I first scooped this album up and being pretty damn excited to see Frisell revisit the piece.

Speaking of Quartet, this multi-media project between Frisell and animator Jim Woodring speaks to the heart of that recording.

 

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Jan 1 2019

It’s a new year, and I choose to start it with a Bill Frisell video

 

Welcome to 2019.  Let’s begin with a Bill Frisell video.

This song is called “Egg Radio” and it appears on Frisell’s excellent 1995 recording Quartet.  I saw that quartet (of Frisell, trumpeter Ron Miles, trombonist Curtis Fowlkes and violinist-tubist Eyvind Kang) perform at the Boulder Theater in Colorado shortly after this album was released.  It was arguably the greatest concert I’ve ever seen, measured in terms of the pieces performed, where I was at in my discovery of Bill Frisell’s music, the wonderful venue and its location, and everything that was going on in my life at the time and especially on that day, and how significant all of those things remain even now as I type this out.

Their performance of this song nearly brought me to tears.  Frisell is magic with a melody, so expertly crafted but delivered with exquisite care and thoughtfulness, and how his quartet contentedly sighed the melody of “Egg Radio” that night while balancing it with a rocking cadence like the most comforting lullaby was how I wanted my heart to beat for the rest of my life.

This song, both from the studio recording and that live performance in Boulder, Colorado, is forever etched on my timeline.  I hope the new year brings all of us a few moments just like that.  We all deserve to attain that kind of happiness.

Welcome to 2019.  Thanks for joining me.

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Sep 4 2018

Watch the official video from the new Bill Frisell recording that I’ll never get to listen to dammit

 

Bill Frisell has a new album coming out.  It’s called Strata, and it’s a duet with Skúli Sverrisson, and because Newvelle Records is a vinyl-only production, then that means I and anyone like me who doesn’t own a record player ain’t gonna get to hear it.

A list of all the reasons this totally sucks:

  • Bill Frisell hasn’t exactly been coming strong with the new recordings lately, and based on this video track, Strata is looking like something that would rock my world.
  • I have been enamored with the music of Skúli Sverrisson for a very long time.  When the snow begins to fall, inevitably, his music is going to begin playing in my home.
  • I am looking to reboot my morning listening playlist, and based on this one track, Strata sounds like it might make a perfect fit.
  • There is no bigger Bill Frisell fan than me, so it’s practically a crime to deny me the opportunity to have this music in my home.  A crime!  Do you hear me, Newvelle?!  You’re practically criminals!
  • I sold my record player and vinyl long ago because everyone was making shit on cassettes and then CDs and then downloads, and now Newvelle thinks I’m gonna start buying everything all over again?  What next?  A cassette-only release?  Screw that.

Anyways, here’s the damn video.  It’s beautiful.  It’s so gorgeous, my heart can barely contain all the happiness it makes me feel inside.

Anyways, you can read more about it and, if you own a record player, pre-order the damn thing on the Newvelle Records site.

Guh.

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Jul 8 2018

So, about this Bill Frisell guest spot…

 

It’s been a long time.  Nearly ten years, in fact, since I first discovered this album.  The details are a bit fuzzy, naturally, from all that time passing.  But I’m pretty sure I discovered this album simply wandering the halls of eMusic, looking for either cool modern jazz recordings or ambient shoegaze for those early mornings and late nights when the peaceful hours call for peaceful music.  Matt Brown‘s solo project Disinterested falls into the latter category.  As I gave it an initial listen, I thought I heard a Bill Frisell influence.  As it turned out, it was more than just an influence.  Brown had recruited his fellow Seattle resident to contribute to an album track on Behind Us.

That track is called “Blankets,” and it is a beautiful tune on a gorgeous album.  And the rest of the album is truly beautiful… but “Blankets” is the gem of the recording, and it makes me wistful that Frisell only makes that solitary appearance.  The woven melody of “Blankets” possesses an allure all its own, and resonates stronger than anything else on the recording.  It’s undeniable that the two musicians formed a connection, even if for just that brief time.

For almost ten years, I’ve given myself an infusion of this sonic tranquility.  It occurred to me that I should probably give the album a mention, since, y’know, I’ve got this website and all.  Consider yourselves informed.

Your album personnel:  Matt Brown (guitar) and guests:  Bill Frisell (guitar, loops), Nathan Skolrud (drums), Ross Simonini (percussion), Anna-Lynne Williams (voice), and Chris Stromquist (drum sample).

Released originally in 2007 on Dynamaphone Records.

Listen to more of the album on the artist’s Bandcamp page.

Music from Seattle, WA.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

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Mar 25 2018

I’ve uncovered a Google conspiracy meant to keep me from seeing these Bill Frisell Quartet videos

 

As I’ve mentioned countless times on this site (and elsewhere), Bill Frisell is one of my top three favorite musicians ever.  As such, I find as many excuses as possible to feature his music.  One of those routes is video.  Which is why I find it inconceivable that I haven’t run into today’s videos much much much sooner.  Why these videos?  Because they feature my favorite Frisell ensemble, the musicians who joined him for the guitarist’s excellent 1996 release Quartet:  Trumpeter Ron Miles, trombonist Curtis Fowlkes and tubist-violinist Eyvind Kang.

According to their YouTube page, they’ve been up for nearly ten years.  I can’t see how that’s possible.  With disturbing frequency, I google keyword searches with the above musicians’ names, just to see if there’s a one-off concert or a bootleg concert recording or A VIDEO of these musicians performing.  How I haven’t stumbled upon these videos prior to last week, I’ll never understand.  The only reasonable explanation I can come up with is it’s part of a vast, evil conspiracy by Google to prevent me from enriching my life (and yours) with the music of this particular ensemble.  It’s the only thing that adds up.

In any event, here’s three videos from the quartet’s April 8, 1997 performance in Ljubljana, Slovenia.  First up is the song “Dead Ranch.”

The next song is a rendition of “The End of the World.”

And wrapping things up is a performance of “Strange Meeting.”

I’m pretty certain if you anagrammed the three song titles, it would spell out something like “Hide these songs from Dave.”  Google, I’m on to you.

And in case you were interested in learning more about Ljubljana, Slovenia, here’s a Rick Steves’ Europe video that features the city.

Have a great Sunday!

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