The Bullet

Discovered this man through MB. Someone posted this in one of the "I'm new to Jazz" threads.


I'm just starting to get into this insanely good Jazz guitarist. I've heard "Disfarmer" and his 2010 album "Beautiful Dreamers" is on the download.

I'm not exactly sure to start with the rest of his discography. He has, like, 30 disks. I was hoping someone here could help me out with that. ((And if anyone knows what pickups he used on the Disfarmer album, that would be great as well))

Discuss.

Lisnaholic

Great to see this guy get a thread of his own ! Well done, Bullet.

Like yourself, I`m a bit overwhelmed by the quantity of his work, but I can really recommend his 1998 album Gone, just like a train. Like Disfarmer, it has a relaxed but intriguing sound with touches of early folk, and takes a few listens to appreciate fully. No strings on this album, though; just Bill, a bass player, and Dylan`s old drummer, Jim Ketner. That makes it less atmospheric than Disfarmer, but means that the BF guitarwork is really to the fore, which I`m guessing you would enjoy.

When I bought GJLAT, I nearly went for Good dog, happy man, which I think is similar. As that one is from 1999, maybe those are good years to start looking for his best work.
Conversely, I`ve heard a track or two of his work with Elvin Jones, Dave Holland & Fred Hersch and found them a little disappointing. Firstly, I don`t think they were Frisell compositions and secondly there were too many old-fashioned lounge-jazz touches, like playing the symbols with brushes,etc. for my liking.

Well, good luck, and let us know what you find !

Ska Lagos Jew Sun Ra

Only know him from his works with Zorn. Perhaps I'll explore him more a bit over time.

Bulldog

I only know a handful of albums he's played on, but he's definitely one of the finest and most unique guitarists I've ever heard. This here's my favourite album that I've heard on;

Elvis Costello And Bill Frisell - Deep Dead Blue - Live 25 June 95 (CD, Album) at Discogs

^ And that's one that focuses almost entirely on his playing. Definitely worth having.

Lisnaholic

I`ve just listened to a track with Bill Frisell playing live with Zorn`s Masada (NYC, 1996).It has the distinctive Frisell sound, with some laid-back clarinet(?) playing. Would that be typical of the Zorn/Frisell collaborations you mentioned ?

The Deep Dead Blue album looks interesting: I wonder if Elvis C. sings on all the tracks ?

Ska Lagos Jew Sun Ra

Frisell and Zorn have done tons of stuff together. Masada, Naked City, some album labeled just as them, probably 18 other Zorn bands. Very frequent collaborators(Zorn cult, ftw!).

Lisnaholic

I didn`t realize that ! It looks like time to check out some Zorn material. To judge from the two old John Zorn threads I found here, I`ll be avoiding the Mike Patton stuff though. Naked City also elicits a more than usually diverse range of reactions.

Bloozcrooz

Wow! Loved this video. Thanks

Lisnaholic

I`ve just found this clip of Bill doing a live version of Egg Radio, one of the most charming tracks from Gone, Just Like a Train :

Bloozcrooz

Im impressed and slowly developing more into a fan of this man. The more I hear the more I like it. Honestly I had forgotton about this thread and watching the first vid posted on him. Definatley going to dig a little more for some stuff on he has out now though.