Bill Firsell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian

There’s no doubt that guitarist Bill Frisell is a true master of understatement. He doesn’t so much swing the music as swirl it, carrying the tunes forward in little eddies. For this, his 21st album for Nonesuch, Frisell has formed a mutual admiration society with a like-minded rhythm section. So attuned was the trio in the art of subtlety that the album was recorded ‘live’ in the studio, with no rehearsal. The programme is very Frisellian – ‘You Are My Sunshine’, for example, is played at a snail’s pace, Carter’s bass burbling,

Our rating

4

Published: January 20, 2012 at 4:01 pm

COMPOSERS: Bill Firsell,Paul Motian,Ron Carter
LABELS: Nonesuch
ALBUM TITLE: Bill Frisell
WORKS: Bill Firsell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian
PERFORMER: Bill Frisell (guitar), Ron Carter (bass), Paul Motion (drums)
CATALOGUE NO: 7559 798 972

There’s no doubt that guitarist

Bill Frisell is a true master of

understatement. He doesn’t so

much swing the music as swirl it,

carrying the tunes forward in little

eddies. For this, his 21st album

for Nonesuch, Frisell has formed

a mutual admiration society with

a like-minded rhythm section.

So attuned was the trio in the

art of subtlety that the album was

recorded ‘live’ in the studio, with

no rehearsal. The programme

is very Frisellian – ‘You Are My

Sunshine’, for example, is played at

a snail’s pace, Carter’s bass burbling,

Motian’s brushes pitter pattering

softly in the background. Monk’s

‘Misterioso’ is similarly reduced,

gently warped out of shape. The

familiar melody in Hank Williams’s

country number ‘I’m So Lonesome

I Could Cry’ appears gradually,

eventually shimmering clearly like

water-borne phosphorescence.

Frisell’s output is diverse and

consistently interesting: this lovely,

peaceful trio session is no exception.

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