CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

History, Mystery

by: Bill Frisell

Release Date May 13, 2008
Overview:
In History, Mystery Bill Frisell combines elements of the many different styles and genres he has dabbled with over the years into one cohesive story telling album. You can hear elements of Appalachia (ala The Willies), string orchestrations (ala Unspeakable), ambient soundscapes (ala Floratone), great horn lines (Blues Dream), African jazz (ala the Intercontinentals) and quirky odd Friselldoms (ala The Rambler). Basically Bill has gone into his bag of tricks and combined the many magical things he can do into one dreamy CD. At first listen it's a bit much to take in and for fans who are not wild about violins, the string orchestrations might seem a bit too far from jazz. However, after several listens the clever crafting ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Floratone

by: Floratone

Release Date August 14, 2007
These music on these tracks is thick and solid and very democratic. No one tries to grandstand or steal the show. Frisell, as usual, does not play "guitar hero" - though he certainly has the chops to do that, IF he wanted to.

My ONLY complaint is - 45 minutes...? The days of 45 minute "albums" was over about 20 years ago. It would be nice to have about 20 more minutes of these sessions - whether they spent more time exploring the themes of these selections OR included a few more tracks on the release. The playing is great, just give us more on the little silver disk.

Five stars, definitely!

TURN IT UP!

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Lookout For Hope (ECM Touchstones)

by: Bill Frisell

Release Date August 26, 2008
Bill Frisell, for those who don't know, is a guitarist whose music is hard to pin down or categorize. One minute he's playing jazz, then the next he's playing country. You will find his music in your local music store's jazz section and if they don't know who Bill Frisell is, then I don't know if that person deserves to be working in a music store, because Mr. Frisell is one of the most original guitarist of the past 20 years. He got his start playing on ECM records in the mid to late 70s and has since then had a rollercoaster ride of a musical career. Not that this is going to mean anything, but he won a Grammy this year for the album "Unspeakable." His first Grammy award (it's about time the masses and the music buying public take notice). He is a graduate ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Gone, Just Like a Train

by: Bill Frisell

Release Date January 06, 1998
...until you've heard this. You may know what Clapton did with Jack and Ginger (and it was brilliant) or what Hendrix did with Noel and Mitch (ditto), but this is something else again. This is a trio with a jazz flavor (Jim Keltner showing that a great drummer is a great drummer anywhere, as Ginger has in his later work) but plugged in and occasionally as intense and edgy as any rock work. If you don't know Frisell you're in for a treat.

But be sure to listen to how the pieces are composed if you're at all interested in musical structure. There is a lot of fascinating harmonic and rhythmic experimentation going on here. But even as he pushes the envelope, Frisell stays grounded in song forms that are not too hard for the less adventurous listener. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

East/West

by: Bill Frisell

Release Date August 09, 2005
This is my first exposure to the music of jazz guitarist Bill Frisell and I have to say I was thrilled. EAST WEST is comprised of two live sets, with one recorded in 2004 at Yoshi's in Oakland, California (WEST) and the other recorded in 2003 at The Village Vanguard in New York, New York (EAST). Overall, this album is a fine recording of some highly atmospheric, guitar-led jazz, with just a tiny hint of the avant-garde here and there along with some blues. A mix of significantly altered cover tunes and group originals are included on this 2-CD set.

Bill (electric guitar, acoustic guitar and loops) is joined by Viktor Krauss (electric bass guitar WEST), Tony Scherr (electric/acoustic bass EAST) and Kenny Wollesen (drums EAST and WEST). All of these guys are talented ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
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Good Dog, Happy Man

by: Bill Frisell

Release Date May 18, 1999
This is a slow groove with great ensemble work. It's not for everyone but it's right on for me. Beautiful!

CD-Charts Position 7
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The Willies

by: Bill Frisell

Release Date June 11, 2002
I bought several of the tracks individually. They were so good that I bought the entire album. Turns out that those tracks were the only good stuff on the album. The rest were a little condescending to country music in general and poorly performed. Buy Norah Jones doing "Love Me" off the sound track to "Knocked Up". Skip this album at all costs.

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Blues Dream

by: Bill Frisell

Release Date January 30, 2001
"Blues Dream" released in 2001 on Nonesuch is one of Frisell's best efforts as a leader. The music, as always with Frisell, is very hard to categorize. It's essentially blues-jazz combined with folk, bluegrass, country, and a touch of avant-garde, because we all know Frisell favors a little bit more dissonance than other jazz guitarists. This is a great beginning album for people just starting to get into Frisell as is his album "Good Dog, Happy Man."

The musicianship, as with any Frisell album, is top-notch. Bill has a talent for finding just the right musicians to play his music. I was particuarly impressed with drummer Kenny wollesen, pedal-steel guitarist Greg Leisz, and trumpeter Ron Miles. All the other musicians are fantastic, but it seems these musicians really took ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Unspeakable

by: Bill Frisell

Release Date August 24, 2004
All the other reviews say it all. I just want to inform you of ALL the musicians on the CD.
Frisell with Hal Willner (turntables also known as record player scratching, CD samples); Tony Scherr (bass except #12, electric guitar # 12); Ken Wollesen (drums except #5, 7, 10); Don Alias (percussion #1, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12); Steven Bernstein, Briggan Krauss, Curtis Fowlkes (horns #2, 6, 9, 11, 12); Jenny Scheinman, Eyvind Kang, Hank Roberts (strings #1, 4, 6, 7-12, 14); Adam Dorn (editing #2, synthesizer #4) Enjoy!

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Time and Time Again

by: Paul Motian, Bill Frisell, Joe Lovano

Release Date April 03, 2007
I'm going to try and keep this review short.

I have listened to this album several times, but I think this lacks the heartbreaking beauty of their previous album "I Have The Room Above Her." That album was really one of the best jazz trio albums I've ever heard well next to Bill Evans Trio - "You Must Believe In Spring."

Having said that, this album hasn't grown on me the way their previous release has. Another person mentioned the JMT/Winter and Winter releases and they are all great in particular the "On Broadway" series. Great modern takes on jazz standards.

The music on this album is almost in the same vein as "I Have The Room Above Her," but with a little bit emphasis on pure gorgeous beauty. I know they're just expanding on their concept, but I think ... Read More: