On Thu, 6 Jun 2002 09:16:18 -0400 "Steve Smith" wrote:
Added to the frustration of his never having followed up on the promise of 'Quartet,' Frisell actually did do a bunch of New York dates at the Knitting Factory in which he played new material with that band featuring a different soloist every night. I caught the evening with Don Byron, which was incredible; the other nights featured, as I recall, Lee Konitz, Joe Lovano and Don Alias.
I read a review yesterday of a new children's book by twisted comics creator Jim Woodring that includes a solo Frisell CD in the package. The review said something to the effect that Frisell lays aside his recent bluegrass and Americana fixation to play darker music that sounded like "classical melodies soaked in reverb." Anyone heard this?
All I know: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** - TROSPER: Jim Woodring, Bill Frisell 2002 - Fantagraphics (USA), ??? (book) # Review by Karrin Ellertson in PORTLAND MERCURY May 9, 2002: # "REVIEW: BOOKS # # TROSPER # Story by Jim Woodring # Music by Bill Frisell # (Fantagraphics) # # [...] In his latest effort, TROSPER, Woodring delivers 18 of his trademark, # watercolor illustrations, bound together in a Golden Books format. # # [...] In the spirit of innovation, Woodring added an unusual component to # the book. For TROSPER, he enlisted the help of noted jazz guitarist Bill # Frisell, who contributes a six-minute soundtrack to accompany Woodring's # innocuous tale. # # While the concept of combining a visual component with a soundscape is # interesting, the reality of the experience provided by Woodring and Frisell # falls short of compelling. Frisell's soundtrack is a spacey, but bland # deluge into soft jazz guitar that fails to establish a succint mood or even # establish a pace for perusing the pages of illustrations. In fact, one can # easily look over the illustrations and capture the story quickly, with # minutes of the soundtrack left to play after gleaning the fate of TROSPER. # [...]" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------