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Bill Frisell was honored as Guitarist of the Year for the second year in a row by the Jazz Journalists Association. The Jazz Award ceremonies were held in New York City June, 16 2009. Frequent collaborator Brian Blade won the award for Drummer of the Year. The Grammy Award winning artist is preparing to release his new album, Disfarmer, on July 21,2009 through Nonesuch Records. Frisell is joined on the record by long-time musical collaborators Greg Leisz (steel guitars, mandolin) Jenny Scheinman (violin) and Viktor Krauss (bass). Catch Bill Frisell on tour throughout the year - please see tour dates>>
Grammy Award-winning guitarist, composer and bandleader Bill Frisell will release his new CD Disfarmer on July 21, 2009 (Nonesuch Records). The album is inspired by the artist and photographer known as Disfarmer, who recorded stark black-and-white photographic portraits of his fellow townspeople in the rural community of Heber Springs, Arkansas, during the 1940s-1950s. Decades after the photographer’s passing, a cache of work made by this solitary and oft-reviled man was rediscovered, and he has come to be regarded as an important outsider artist. Frisell himself says "I was blown away when I saw his photos for the first time and started to learn a little about his life. What a fantastic story...I try to picture what went on in Disfarmer’s mind. How did he really feel about the people in this town? What was he thinking? What did he see? We’ll never know, but as I write the music, I’d like to imagine it coming from his point of view. The sound of him looking through the lens." Frisell is joined on the record by long-time musical collaborators Greg Leisz (steel guitars, mandolin) Jenny Scheinman (violin) and Viktor Krauss (bass). Catch Bill Frisell on tour throughout the year - see tour dates >> The Best of Bill Frisell, Vol. 1: Folk Songs will be released by Nonesuch Records February 24, 2009. This first release in a series of compilations drawn from Bill Frisell's catalog spotlights his idiosyncratic excursions into country and traditional folk. "It's hard to find a more fruitful meditation on American music than in the compositions of guitarist Bill Frisell," says the New York Times. The collection features appearances by frequent collaborators Viktor Krauss, Wayne Horvitz, Kermit Driscoll, Joey Baron, Kenny Wollesen, Jim Keltner and Ry Cooder. In late January 2009, Bill was the subject of a feature article in the The New Yorker, which describes him as "the fearless and adaptable guitarist Bill Frisell, whose varied endeavors have drawn him into free-form extemporizations, symphonic collaborations, hard and soft rock, country, and accompaniments for Buster Keaton silent films ..." Watch for Bill on tour in his ever varied presentation formats.
Bill Frisell has initiated a unique monthly download series of live recordings available on Bill's website. The first offering was recorded at the Ruhr Triennale Festival in Bochum, Germany on May 22, 2004. The second in the series has just been released, a classic solo performance from Grace Cathedral in San Francisco recorded on Bill has also released a DVD of a 2004 solo session from the atmospheric Berkeley Church in Toronto. The film is beautifully shot by Director Daniel Berman. In other recording news, Bill collaborates with one of his musical mentors, the legendary guitarist Jim Hall on the recently released Hemispheres, a double CD on the Artist Share label. One CD showcases Bill and Jim's duo collaboration while the other disc features the two artists in a quartet format with Scott Colley on bass and Joey Baron on drums. For more details or to purchase these new releases, please visit Bill's website. Catch Bill live on the road, please see tour dates >>
Rosebud Artists captured 5 Grammy nominations for the upcoming 51st Grammy Awards. Artists were honored in the following categories. Best Contemporary Blues Album - Marcia Ball's Peace, Love and BBQ Best Zydeco Or Cajun Music Album - BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet for Live At The 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival as well as Michael Doucet’s own From Now On Best Traditional Gospel Album - The Blind Boys of Alabama for their Down In New Orleans CD which also features Rosebud artist and New Orleans legend, Allen Toussaint Best Jazz Instrumental Album - Bill Frisell’s History, Mystery. Best Long Form Music Video category, Respect Yourself - The Stax Records Story featuring Mavis Staples and Booker T Jones (and named after The Staple Singers’ hit) also scored a nomination. Our heartiest Congratulations and sincere Best of Luck to all the nominees.
The Roots Music Association has nominated four Rosebud artists in six categories for the 2008 Roots Music Awards. The awards will take place during the World United Music Festival in San Marcos, Texas November 14, 15, 16, 2008. The Rosebud artists nominated are, for Blues Artist of the Year and for Blues Songwriter of the Year, Marcia Ball. For Folk Artist of the Year and for Folk Songwriter of the Year, Carrie Rodriguez. For Jazz Artist of the Year, Bill Frisell. For Zydeco Artist of the Year, Allen Toussaint. You can vote for the awards here: Catch the nominees out on tour: Marcia Ball tour dates || Carrie Rodriguez tour dates || Bill Frisell tour dates || Allen Toussaint tour dates
Bill Frisell is featured on McCoy Tyner's new star studded CD+DVD Guitars. The album features McCoy and his trio mates (Jack DeJohnette, Ron Carter) accompanied by some of popular music's most accomplished string specialists including Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, John Scofield, Derek Trucks and Bela Fleck. Legendary producer John Snyder oversaw the project and coined Frisell "The Phillip Glass of jazz" and "the most unassuming guitar player on this or any other planet." Frisell chose to play Tyner's "Contemplation" on the record, in addition to his own charts for "Boubacar" and "Baba Drame". Catch Bill Frisell on tour in 2009: see tour dates>>
Bill Frisell Honored As Guitarist Of The Year At 2008 Jazz Awards On June 18, Bill Frisell was honored as Guitarist of the Year at the 2008 Jazz Awards. The Jazz Journalists Association’s 12th annual Jazz Awards ceremony took place in New York to celebrate and recognize the best in jazz and jazz journalism. Frisell beat out fellow guitarists Pat Metheny, Russell Malone and Lionel Loueke for the award – winners are based on votes cast by members of the Jazz Journalists Association. Catch Bill Frisell touring throughout the U.S. this year in support of his latest acclaimed release, History, Mystery...see tour dates >>
Grammy Award-winning guitarist, composer and bandleader Bill Frisell’s new album History, Mystery will be released by Nonesuch on May 13, 2008. This two-disc set finds Frisell performing with a large band recorded in various combinations and contexts, live and in the studio. The CD features an octet of strings, horns, and rhythm section including some of Frisell’s closest collaborators - Jenny Scheinman (violin), Eyvind Kang (viola), Hank Roberts (cello), Ron Miles (cornet), Greg Tardy (clarinet and tenor saxophone), Tony Scherr (bass), and Kenny Wollesen (drums). History, Mystery debuts many recent Frisell compositions as well as a few of his arrangements of favorite pieces by other songwriters, ranging in style from soul pioneer Sam Cooke, to jazzmen Thelonious Monk and Lee Konitz. Bill Frisell was named Best Guitarist for the fourth year in a row (and seventh in 10 years) in the latest Downbeat Critics Poll and is also a three time Downbeat Readers Poll winner for Best Guitarist. Catch Bill Frisell on tour throughout 2008 in various band formats...see tour dates >> Raves for Bill Frisell's latest CD "History, Mystery"... "Some artists, as they grow older, have a tendency to retreat into a safety zone that displays their skill but doesn't expand their repertoire or provide impetus for keeping up. Not so guitarist Bill Frisell ... [H]e's been refining and expanding his palette with every release.... The whole album stands as yet another testament to the man's place at the very epicenter of modern American music. Yes, he's done it again." - Chris Jones, BBC The Guardian (London), in a four-star review of History, Mystery, says the album is "studded with gems," featuring a line-up of musicians that reviewer John L. Waters calls "a kind of roots-jazz-classical chamber hybrid, though with none of the hang-ups that might imply." Waters sees "a genuine thoughtfulness" from Bill, who, he writes, "has the surest touch as a musician." It is an attribute "that is true for his playing, where he can invest a single note with meaning, and it's true in the way he organizes his music and musicians." The Independent (London) calls History, Mystery the Jazz Album of the Week, with the paper's Tim Cumming calling it "extraordinarily eclectic" delivered in "an all but seamless suite that's full of musical contrasts, rich textures, lengthening shadows, and unexpected turns." Cumming says "it's consistently engaging" with a closing guitar solo that's "just wonderful." His colleague Nick Coleman adds that on this collection, listeners will find the "Frisell who makes great soundtrack music; the one who rejoices in sieving the Hot Club de Paris out of Thelonious Monk."
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Bill Frisell has collaborated with artists as diverse as Elvis Costello, Bono, T-Bone Burnett, Paul Simon, McCoy Tyner, Ornette Coleman, Brian Eno, Ry Cooder and many more - a testament to his virtuosity as a guitarist, bandleader and composer.
Bill Frisell Repeats As Guitarist of the Year In Jazz Journalists Association Poll
Bill Frisell's Disfarmer Set for July 21 Release
The Best of Bill Frisell, Vol. 1: Folk Songs Out February 24
Bill Frisell New Releases Including Download Series and Live DVD
Rosebud Artists Score 5+ Grammy Nominations
Rosebud Artists Nominated For 2008 Roots Music Awards
Bill Frisell Featured On New McCoy Tyner CD+DVD
Bill Frisell's New CD "History, Mystery" In Stores May 13