Jul 12 2017
There’s no point to “Small Town” and, for a change, that’s okay
I guess I just haven’t really seen the point of much of Bill Frisell‘s recent output. The renditions of classic rock tunes on 2014’s Guitar In the Space Age was, at best, mediocre, though at least it never quite sunk as low as the regrettable covers of Disney tunes on 2016’s When You Wish Upon A Star. 2013’s Big Sur had some enjoyable moments, but it was an album that Frisell had been making in different shades of the same color for many years counting.
Frisell’s newest, a live session with bassist Thomas Morgan, doesn’t have a point either. There’s no theme to guide Small Town. Random acts of nostalgia doesn’t lay waste to the songlist. And there also isn’t anything new. For a time, Frisell’s creative trajectory was marked by a series of new directions and reimagined sounds. From the spooky melodicism and odd instrumentation pairings of 1996’s Quartet to the border-transcending brilliance of 2003’s Intercontinentals to the country-jazz revelations of 1997’s Nashville to the dark Americana of 2009’s Disfarmer and the electronics heavy 2004 date Unspeakable, it was dizzying to keep up with Frisell’s next most new thing ever. Small Town isn’t part of that legacy. Small Town doesn’t have a point, but it sure does make one. Recorded live at the Village Vanguard, it’s a reminder of the casual magic and striking melodicism Frisell is able to conjure.
A rendition of the song “Small Town,” from the brooding Americana of Disfarmer, doesn’t give up the ghost on the original, but Frisell and Morgan release the melody from the weight of its darker tones and lets it bathe in sunlight and express some joy and happiness at times, too. The lines of open communication between Frisell and Morgan are remarkable. They create intricate weaves of melody and rhythm all within the same strands, indistinguishable at times between causation and effect, beginning and end. Case in point is the rendition of “Wildwood Flower.” Frisell made the song his own on the 2000 release Ghost Town, and he did it all by his lonesome. That recording showed Frisell’s true brilliance in a solo setting, with just his guitar and looping and effects. If Frisell’s newest album could be compared to any previous, it would be that one. Except in this instance, it’s Thomas Morgan’s bass subbing in for Frisell’s loops and effects… which, by extension, it could be said that Morgan is subbing in for a “dual Frisell,” which really is the crux of the sympatico relationship Morgan has with Frisell, and how marvelous this collaboration is.
This isn’t an album of fireworks, but that’s more in the context of measuring how high the voltage ranges on this recording and the strength of its explosion. But if fireworks is to be defined by its pretty lights, then maybe, yeah, Small Town has got ’em. The album starts out with some serious prettiness on a rendition of Paul Motian’s “It Should Have Happened a Long Time Ago.” It’s a song that Frisell played originally with Motian back in the day, and one that he’s revisited from time to time. It’s a twisting staircase of a tune, and Frisell and Morgan structure their rendition so there is no true up and down, but, instead, a sideways velocity that gives the impression of gathering altitude and fluttering descent. Significantly, it shows from the album’s opening notes that the duo are going to explore every damn melodic potential they can get their strings upon.
When they take the Fats Domino tune “What a Party” for a spin, it falls in line with other Frisell live performances. In fact, taking an old Motown or Sun Records song, flipping it on its head and obscuring its identity up until a mid-song grand reveal of the original melody is something of a tradition at a Frisell concert. And it’s a primary driver for the frustration with so many of these by-the-numbers covers albums that Frisell has been kicking out lately; something special has become the mundane. But, here, Frisell shows the happiness he can generate when re-shaping a classic tune. There’s nothing groundbreaking or revolutionary about this rendition, but it keeps itself tethered to the original while giving it enough space for the duo to also provide it a new voice.
The original composition “Poet/Pearl” switches between a sing-song voice and a contemplative reverie. The alternating tones and dispositions are ripe for the kind of playfulness Frisell can have with a song that’s got some bend to its infrastructure. On the other hand, a dull rendition of “Subconscious Lee” shows the risk of this duo sticking too close to the straight-and-narrow path. Conversely, the solemn “Song for Andrew No.1” shows the benefits to when the duo go wandering off that path.
The album ends with a rendition of the James Bond movie theme to “Goldfinger.” It’s okay, fine, whatever. The tune has some interesting melodic possibilities that might’ve been made more interesting if Frisell had brought trombonist Curtis Fowlkes or trumpeter Ron Miles into the studio, something heavy as a counterweight to Frisell’s and Morgan’s introspective noodling on the piece. But in terms of weak links on a fine album, the track supports the album’s overall success. And it is a success. It recaptures much of the past magic of Frisell’s body of work, and it accomplishes this by distilling things down to their barest, simplest elements, and watching as they resonate like mad. To make it, once again, just about the act of creativity.
No, there’s no point to Small Town and, for a change, that’s okay.
Your album personnel: Bill Frisell (guitar) and Thomas Morgan (double bass).
Released on ECM Records.
Available at: Amazon
Jul 13 2017
The Whistler Bandcamp page is amazing
Chicago bar and club The Whistler has its own Bandcamp page, and it’s pretty damn amazing. The Logan Square joint does food, drinks and local music. They’re also establishing an extra retail avenue for the artists who perform on their stage. They release a “Weekly Free” of music recorded on their turf, and it’s priced Free or Name Your Price (NYP) on their very own Bandcamp page, and any money you choose to pay for the music goes to the artists 100%.
It’s a great opportunity to check out some amazing musicians, and also to hear them in a live setting. Today’s column will give you a brief rundown on the local jazz musicians that have a slot on the Whistler Bandcamp page.
But first, a quick note about Name Your Price etiquette: Whether marked Free or Name Your Price, this music is free for you to download. You should. The musicians want you to have it in your music library to enjoy. But if you’re reading this site, no matter how diverse your backgrounds and experiences and lives may be, I’m completely certain that you all give a damn about the musicians who make your lives better with their creative pursuits, and you’d like to support them. So, for those of you who don’t have a lot of familiarity with the Bandcamp NYP/Free models, here’s some approaches people commonly take:
Obviously, any funds these musicians raise is gonna get invested in making more music, so it’s in everyone’s best interests that we financially support the musicians who build the creative supports that we rely upon to get through life and to remind us how beautiful life can be.
Anyways, I just wanted to get that out there. Now, about this music… let’s begin.
Meridian Trio – Andromeda EP
Three tracks from the trio of alto saxophonist Nick Mazzarella, bassist Matt Ulery and drummer Jeremy Cunningham: one bop, one blues and one that has that weary but transcendent soul of a deep spiritual jazz tune. All three of these names should ring familiar to readers of this site and my eMusic, Wondering Sound and Bandcamp columns. In the instance of Ulery and Cunningham, they’ve each received a slot on this site’s various Best Of lists: Ulery with his 2012 release By a Little Light and Cunningham with his 2016 release re: Dawn (from afar). And of particular note on Mazzarella, he’s got a new album, Triangulum, out on Clean Feed Records with this same Meridian Trio.
Artist site | Listen & Download on Bandcamp
Matt Ulery’s Loom – The Queen
It was Matt Ulery‘s 2011 release Flora.Fauna.Fervor. that first introduced me to the bassist’s predilection for fascinating, unusual music. While a world apart in terms of overall sound, Ulery’s music reminded me of some of Bill Frisell’s stranger output… something otherworldly, alien, but possessing a melodic beauty that makes everything comforting and familiar. The song “The Queen” sources from that 2011 album, and it’s accompanied by two remixes on this EP. Ulery’s Loom ensemble is comprised of pianist Rob Clearfield, trumpeter Thad Franklin, tenor saxophonist Tim Heideman, violinist Zach Brock, vibraphonist Katie Wiegman and drummer Jon Deitemyer.
Go and follow this link to check out more of Ulery’s music on this site.
Artist site | Listen & Download on Bandcamp
Stirrup – Super Seeded
The quartet Stirrup get right in your face and don’t back off. The thing is, while the music often comes off as intense, even angry, all of that aggression has an oddly friendly bearing. Bassist Nick Macri, drummer Charles Rumback, trumpeter Russ Johnson and cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm are your musicians for this track. They were a trio back when they first hit my radar with the 2013 release Sewn, and their music hasn’t grown any calmer or normal since Johnson joined up. Edgy modern jazz, ferocious rock, untamed electronics and any other ingredients they can find in the cupboard go into the mix for what they serve up on a recording. If you like this track, go check out their live album A Man Can’t Ride On One, which was also recorded at the Whistler.
Artist site | Listen & Download on Bandcamp
Dave McDonnell Group – Vox Orion
I first became familiar with the Dave McDonnell Group with their 2014 release The Dragon and the Griffin. Comprised of all-stars from the Chicago scene, the saxophonist’s particular voicing of the post-bop sound had an airy melodicism to pair with its unrepentant edge. McDonnell has moved from Chicago to Cincinnati, and the personnel have shifted around, too, but that particular free-grounded dichotomy is still there. Joining him on this set are vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, bassist Joshua Abrams and drummer Quin Kirchner.
In addition to checking out that 2014 release (linked above), also take a spin with his 2016 release Eidetic, which features this same quartet and was also recorded at The Whistler. In fact, many of the compositions on the live album were also featured on the 2014 studio recording. (Go check it out).
Artist site | Listen & Download on Bandcamp
Makaya McCraven & Shane Parish – Spooky Action at a Distance
Drummer Makaya McCraven and guitarist Shane Parish had never performed together prior to this one-off show at the Whistler as part of their Stars Align series… a monthly concert & podcast presentation. McCraven’s name has been cropping up with increasing frequency among my various recommendations columns. This frenetic, jazz-rock-avant garde-etc piece shows his talent doesn’t pay attention to genre borders and that his creative dexterity is likely to appeal to quite a few of the musicians who have made an appearance on this site.
Want to hear more of McCraven’s expansive sound? Check out his 2015 release In the Moment.
Artist site | Listen & Download on Bandcamp
And those are only just some of the tracks featured on
The Whistler’s Bandcamp page.
Be sure to dig into the rest and follow those other links to more music by these artists.
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By davesumner • Artist Overviews • 0 • Tags: Brick & Mortar