The Bill Frisell Trio in Seattle

My former college roommate is in town this week on business. He wanted some live music, and the listing for Jazz Alley caught his attention. So we made an evening of it.

I had heard of Bill Frisell, but hadn't heard any of his music until last night. Well, it was a fascinating, engrossing set. From the sounds he coaxed out of his guitar, and the way those sounds were layering and interlocking, it was clear he was using some sort of looping technology. This was confirmed at times when he'd crouch down to adjust the settings on his pedal effects -- those pinging, curling riffs continuing to repeat when he had only one hand on his guitar. He struck me as being the Robert Fripp of jazz ... or perhaps Fripp is the Bill Frisell of rock. (I'm probably showing my ignorance by this comparison, either way.)

The set ran the gamut from complicated, over-the-top interactions that sounded as if they were making them up on the fly, to more subdued takes on standards. (Their last three songs were "You Only Live Twice," "We Shall Overcome" and an encore of "What the World Needs Now.") The whole set was terrific -- so terrific that I actually got mad when I heard someone in the crowd yell "Free Bird!"

Frisell is one of the greats of modern jazz, no question. I've seen him four times: twice as a sideman (with Charles Lloyd and Andrew Cyrille), and twice leading his trio - once in the Continental Club, a tiny place he likes to play even though he could fill up Bass Concert Hall, and just a couple of months ago at, well, Bass, as he accompanied Bill Morrison's documentary The Great Flood, which was amazing. His music is well worth the exploration, though there is a LOT OF IT (I have 27 CDs on my shelf, and it's not even half of his catalog, and that's not counting his sideman and band work). I'm so glad you got to see him.

He's also accompanied Lucinda Williams and Elvis Costello, among others.

And I don't think the the Frisell/Fripp comparison is far off.

I used to be a big Frisell fan in the late 1990s-early 2000s, but started to lose the plot around 2003 or so. I'd actually forgotten all about him, but now feel a bit inspired to dig up a few that I used to enjoy...Gone, Just Like a Train and Good Dog, Happy Man.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/2022 07:00AM by zoo.