by Tom Johnson My favorite guitarist released, at long last, his second live album in 2005. How a guitarist this amazing and talented had gone so long between live releases is beyond me. Whereas his first live album, the intriguingly titled Live, captured Frisell at the peak of his noisyRead More

by Tom Johnson My first real exposure to jazz was either John Coltrane’s Sun Ship or this. Time has erased the gap between the two, but it matters little. Either way, I was in way over my head. I bought both in quick succession, but found Sun Ship simply wayRead More

by Tom Johnson This trio is basically Bill Frisell’s home away from home, it seems. If he’s not putting out his own solo album, it seems like you can almost count on something from this trio sooner or later, where he indulges his more straight-ahead jazz tendencies. The joy inRead More

By Tom Johnson I spent most of the morning flipping between one disc and the next, restless for something that actually fit my mood. I just didn’t want to, you know, as they say, deal and nothing particularly appealed to me. On days like this, I tend to gather upRead More

by Mark Saleski You wouldn’t suppose that most musicians would look favorably upon being compared to an old pile of rocks. How about an old, organized pile of rocks? You May Also Like: Paul Bley, Gary Peacock + Paul Motian – ‘When Will The Blues Leave’ (1999, rel. 2019) BillRead More

by Tom Johnson Bill Frisell has become one of the most easily recognizable guitarists in jazz, and it’s not without an effort to incorporate himself into as many styles as one person could in a lifetime. Few guitarists in any genre could pull off the feat of having played inRead More