Bill Frisell: Mr. Atmospherics

One of the things I adore about music is the way it can alter one's mood in an instant and take your brain on a trip to who knows where. Some musicians have this ability to conjure up a time or place in a listener's mind with the merest stroke of their instrument. Bill Frisell is such a player. That is not to say he is just provides background mood muzak for the weary yuppie. Rather his elegant playing is an evocative presence in whatever setting he appears, creating wonderful pictures for the listener. While he is considered a jazz artist, he is the consummate musician, able to turn his hand to any genre you could care to name. However, his signature ethereal sound remains constant. Once you listen to a bit of Bill Frisell, you can pick him out in a plethora of musical situations. For starters, let us hear one of his best themes, Poem For Eva.

Bill Frisell began his musical life playing clarinet in his high school band. He took up the guitar in his early teens, quickly developing a love of the jazz playing of Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell, as well as psychedelic rockers like Jimi Hendrix. His musical career did not really kick start until the early 1980s when he joined the legendary European jazz label, ECM Records. This company, synonymous with progressive, crisply-recorded jazz, proved a fertile training ground for Frisell's early avant-garde leanings. As well as producing some solo albums, he played on sessions for the likes of saxophonist Jan Garbarek, drummer Paul Motian and bassist Eberhard Weber. He also played far-out noise rock with the saxophonist John Zorn in the band Naked City. He is a sample of them live. All I will say is that it may not to be everyone's taste.

In the early 1990s, Bill Frisell released a string of albums exploring his fascination with the American popular song of all shapes and sizes. On albums like Have A Little Faith, Nashville and Ghost Town, Frisell, as well as presenting his own eclectic compositions, interpreted classic American tunes from a wide variety of genres. These include tunes by Hank Williams, Thelonious Monk, George Gershwin, Sam Cooke, Bob Dylan, Aaron Copland and Madonna. He also began to incorporate traditional country, folk and bluegrass licks into his graceful jazz style with seamless effort. A great example of Frisell's uniquely fresh take on the pop song is this number, from The Wizard Of Oz, taken from Elvis Costello's Spectacle TV show.

His use of effect processors is worth noting here. With an array of reverb, delay, modulation and fuzz pedals at his feet, Frisell can go from pure bebop tone, to Byrds-esque jangle, to pedal steel-like twang to harsh heavy metal distortion at the flick of a switch, sometimes all within the same song. Whatever the setting, Frisell has a sound to go with it. Here is a perfect example of his use of colour in sound. This is his tribute to the celebrated jazz bassist, Ron Carter.

While he has produced several fine albums himself, he continues to add his stately playing to records by many legendary figures in all musical walks of life. As mentioned above, Elvis Costello has employed him for numerous musical projects, including The Sweetest Punch, an interpretation of material Costello composed with Burt Bacharach for the album Painted From Memory. He has lent his talents to recordings by Paul Simon, Marianne Faithfull, Rickie Lee Jones and soprano Renée Fleming. He has contributed to the soundtracks of movies like Finding Forrester and Million Dollar Hotel. Here is Frisell at his ambient best.

As you can see, Bill Frisell can and has turned his hand to a glut of varied projects over the years. While he has built a reputation as an artful impressionist on guitar, he is also swinging, harmonically fluent jazz player when the occasion warrants. Hopefully, his effervescent sound will continue to float across the musical landscape for many years to come.

Recommend Listening: Have A Little Faith (1992)
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Some Key Frisell Cuts: Just Like A Woman (Have a Little Faith), A Change Is Gonna Come (History Mystery), Go Jake (Nashville).