From Nate Chenin of the The New York Times:
Bill Frisell has had a lot of practice putting high concept into a humble package. Long hailed as one of the most distinctive and original improvising guitarists of our time, he has also earned a reputation — over the last 30 years, and especially within the last 10 or so — for teasing out thematic connections with his music.
The tenor of his work, and the slant of his signature, has kept Mr. Frisell, 62, at the forefront of a hybrid you might call jazz Americana. His style suggests a folklike vernacular that finds purchase in country, Protestant hymns, jazz and blues. He has drawn recent, long-form inspiration from the rural portrait photography of Mike Disfarmer and the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. This spring at SFJazz, he performed multimedia tributes to Allen Ginsberg and Hunter S. Thompson.
“Big Sur” (OKeh), his gorgeously evocative new album, fits squarely into this portfolio, with a welcome twist. As the title implies, it’s about the rugged sweep of California coastline that runs south of the Monterey Peninsula, with a sound that often courts the majestic. But the album doesn’t strike a dialogue with Henry Miller or Jack Kerouac, who each put a claim on the region. That literary filter would be true to Mr. Frisell’s established pattern of inquiry, maybe even a little too on-the-nose.
Contact Information
- Clifton Center
- 2117 Payne St, Louisville , -
- (502) 896-6950
Event Time
- Wednesday, December 4, 2013
- 7:00 PM
Price
- ($24-$32)