Bill Frisell

**jsteele** · 05-29-2008, 09:43 PM

Is there anyone out there with some insights on how to achieve some of Frisell's chordal and single line ideas? I know there is a lesson page for him on the main site...but it only gives one line.

I know he uses open strings frequently...but i anyone has transcribed some of his stuff I would love to get a look.

I will try to do some transcribing of my own so that I am contributing something here.

J.

**jsteele** · 05-30-2008, 10:44 PM

anyone have anything?

**frisellfan19** · 07-21-2008, 02:17 PM

Being a total Bill Frisell fanatic I can honestly tell you that trying to figure out what he does is ultimately a waste of time. Trust me I've tried.

There's a book out of sheet music of his compostions. I own it, but it doesn't do much good. There's an "instructional" DVD of him sharing ideas of how he approaches music, which in all honesty, is one the funniest things I've ever seen, because geniuses can't teach their art. They can try all they want to. Frisell is no teacher, in fact, he said throughout the lesson "I'm not really sure how I do this." However, there are several performances on this DVD that make up for the rest of it. Great performance of "Strange Meeting." You really get a close-up of what he's doing.

What he plays is so dependent on melody. He can take a melody and really milk it unlike any other player I've ever heard. This is one aspect of his playing that makes him unique amongst jazz guitarists. He also doesn't play many single-note lines, especially early on in his career playing with musicians like Paul Motian (which he continues to play with to this day), Eberhard Weber, Gary Burton, Jan Garbarek, Marc Johnson, etc. He's playing is on a completely different level than most players. He likes to leave space in his improvisations (very much the same way Monk and Miles did, which happen to be two of his biggest influences). He's not a licks player and this is what really interested me in. I consider him to be the rightful successor to Jim Hall along with John Abercrombie and Pat Metheny.

**musicalbodger** · 07-21-2008, 05:10 PM

nicely put, frisellfan

because geniuses can't teach their art. They can try all they want to. Frisell is no teacher, in fact, he said throughout the lesson "I'm not really sure how I do this."

I have a tape of a solo Frisell concert where, after about 6 numbers, he says, "I suppose you want me to say something. Well, I'm sorry, but I don't know what I just played, I don't know which order I played them, I don't know what I'm going to play next. I'm sorry, I want to say something but......... it's just not going to happen." Wonderful modesty.

The other aspect of "I'm not really sure how I do this.", which kills me every time I see it, happens when he catches a really perfect loop or effect, he looks up at the rest of the band with an innocent, childlike grin on his face, like he's saying, "Hey guys! see what I just done? Cool huh?" Wonderful!

Re. his playing, I've not analysed it, just listened with sheer pleasure and wonder. However, when I'm playing and find I find myself sounding Frisellish, I tend to be playing fairly inside. So, is it my imagination or does he not stray outside too much? Just has a wicked choice of interesting harmony and sense of space.

**mr. beaumont** · 07-21-2008, 07:32 PM

as a fellow frisell fan, i'll admit i too have not tried transcribing too much of his stuff...it's relatively simple in execution, but very rich in harmonic content.

a few things i've noticed...bill will often bend strings slightly out of tune and/or bend the neck of the guitar when ending a phrase or chord. coupled with the use of delay, it gives a haunting, chorus-y effect.

bill plays a lot of root-less chords. small tone clusters, often a third, a seventh, and whatever color tone he's looking for.

open strings. sometimes this gets bill some pretty out sounds, if he's playing in a key where the open strings are something tasty. but bill's also at home in keys like G, where the open strings sound just that--open and spacey.

palm muting. as much as bill plays with effects, he also gets a ide range of sounds out of his hands. bill will often mute with the right hand to get percussive tones, and then let other notes ring wider open. again, with the use of the multiple delays, this gives a very interesting sound.

**frisellfan19** · 07-21-2008, 10:36 PM

Honestly, everything Bill touches turns to gold in my opinion. He is also one of the more versatile players to come out of his generation. I mean he has played pratically everything from avant-garde/free jazz to bebop to bluegrass/country to alternative rock to classical. He's had his hands in so much music, but he remained an individual player who sounds like himself on every recording he's been on.

I'm lucky in a certain respect to have almost everything he's ever done. I own all of his solo recordings and I have almost everything he's ever sessioned on. Good or bad, I own it.

I wish this website would update his "licks" page or whatever it's called. That example is just not really representative of him that much.

**jsteele** · 07-27-2008, 03:38 AM

the fact that he plays melody, that he plays motifs, thematically, that he pursues the sounds he hears as far as harmonic content is what makes him such a compelling player.

you really could never, for example tab out a page of "frisell licks" and actually capture the essence of what he is doing. what he is doing is engaging himself completely in the music, and that is hard to capture on paper.

**DMatthewsBand07** · 07-27-2008, 07:41 AM

Originally Posted by frisellfan19

I mean he has played pratically everything from avant-garde/free jazz to bebop to bluegrass/country to alternative rock to classical...
I'm lucky in a certain respect to have almost everything he's ever done. I own all of his solo recordings and I have almost everything he's ever sessioned on. Good or bad, I own it.

Hey Frisellfan, I've only heard one album of his. They had it at the local library so I checked it out. It was really out there, avant-garde stuff which isn't really the kind of thing I like to just listen to. He's a fantastic player with some really bizzare and cool tricks like you guys have said and I'd love to hear more of him. What might you suggest as listening for more of the bebop side of his playing.

**mr. beaumont** · 07-27-2008, 11:26 AM

dmb07, i've never heard bill play a straight up bop lick--it always has his "signature."

but i'd highly highly HIGHLY reccommend his trio record with ron carter and paul motian.

**frisellfan19** · 07-28-2008, 05:13 PM

Originally Posted by DMatthewsBand07

Hey Frisellfan, I've only heard one album of his. They had it at the local library so I checked it out. It was really out there, avant-garde stuff which isn't really the kind of thing I like to just listen to. He's a fantastic player with some really bizzare and cool tricks like you guys have said and I'd love to hear more of him. What might you suggest as listening for more of the bebop side of his playing.

Yeah, Bill Frisell got pretty heavy into the avant-garde stuff for awhile, especially playing with John Zorn's Naked City and other NYC downtown jazz musicians.

Bill Frisell isn't a bebop player. I mean he probably very well could go in that direction as he chooses, but my suggestion would be to check out his work with Paul Motian first. Check out Paul Motian's albums "On Broadway, Vols. 1-3." All volumes are fantastic and show how Frisell can take a standard like "Someone To Watch Over Me" and totally reharmonize it and make it his own. His work with Marc Johnson might be something of interest. He played in a quartet format with Johnson's Bass Desires bands. The unique thing about these quartets is there are two guitarists. Bill Frisell and John Scofield are on the first two albums while Frisell and Pat Metheny are on the last one. Another classic Frisell session appearence was playing in Kenny Wheeler's quartet for the recording of "Angel Song." This is such a beautiful album. It's Wheeler, Lee Konitz, Frisell, and Holland. There are no drums on this record and when you hear it you realize that they don't need drums. Great, great chamber/progressive jazz.

Frisell is a pretty wild player when he wants to be, but this side of him is found more on his earlier recordings from "Lookout For Hope" up to "This Land." I would try out Frisell's solo recordings "Gone, Just Like A Train," "Good Dog, Happy Man," "Blues Dream," "Bill Frisell With Dave Holland and Elvin Jones," "Unspeakable," and "East/West" first. Anyone of these is a good choice.

I personally like albums like "Have A Little Faith," "Where In The World?" and "This Land" the best. Those are classic Frisell recordings in my opinion.

Hope this helps. By the way, DMatthewsBand07, check out how Frisell can take a pop song like "La La Means I Love You" and make it his own:

YouTube - Bill Frisell ~ La La Means I Love You

**DMatthewsBand07** · 07-28-2008, 09:29 PM

haha... nice.

**frisellfan19** · 07-28-2008, 09:57 PM

Originally Posted by DMatthewsBand07

haha... nice.

Read my whole post. There are recommendations for you regarding Bill Frisell.

Since you're checking out guitarists check out Ben Monder and John Abercrombie while you're at it.

**DMatthewsBand07** · 07-28-2008, 10:02 PM

Originally Posted by frisellfan19

Read my whole post. There are recommendations for you regarding Bill Frisell.

Since you're checking out guitarists check out Ben Monder and John Abercrombie while you're at it.

I did. I actually think that I have heard Blues Dream. I'll have to put one or two that I haven't heard on my growing CD list. What would you recommend for someone who's pretty into straight ahead and probably will need to get eased off slowly? Maybe one or two that I might be able to put on my list as a priority.

**frisellfan19** · 07-28-2008, 10:41 PM

Originally Posted by DMatthewsBand07

I did. I actually think that I have heard Blues Dream. I'll have to put one or two that I haven't heard on my growing CD list. What would you recommend for someone who's pretty into straight ahead and probably will need to get eased off slowly? Maybe one or two that I might be able to put on my list as a priority.

The biggest problem with recommended something is that recommendations are based on personal taste. I don't mind giving you recommendations at all, which I've already given you a lot of Frisell albums to check out.

What I like, isn't necessarily what you will like. All I know is I gravitate towards what I consider good music. Again, what's good to me, might not be good to you, but you and I have similar tastes. You like Ed Bickert and Jim Hall and I dig those guys too, but there's so much more to explore than those guys.

Check out John Abercrombie's new album called "The Third Quartet." If you have iTunes you can probably download it pretty cheap. The other album I recommend is a Ben Monder album called "Excavation." Both of these albums are challenging on many levels, because they're not straight-ahead.

When I got into jazz, nobody told me what was good and what wasn't good. Nobody had recommendations for me, so 3500 jazz cds later, I'm still looking...lol.

I don't listen to straight-ahead jazz othe than bebop. I find most straight-ahead jazz too conventional. I love the old bebop music, but there's always something new and exciting about that music.

All I can advise you to do is open your ears to something that's on the outside. I'm not saying go little to free jazz, because I hate that crap, but what I am saying is there's a lot of jazz out there that's not straight-ahead that's really good. You just have to take the time to explore and do the research yourself.

When I first got into jazz, nobody really pointed me into any direction. I just started looking up names and 4500 jazz cds later I'm still looking....lol.

**DMatthewsBand07** · 07-28-2008, 10:59 PM

Wow. I just watched a Ben Monder video on youtube. Really cool stuff. Parts of it were almost straight up bebop lines, swing eighths with chromatics and all and parts of it seemed almost Phishy (if you don't mind me saying so). Cool stuff. Thanks a lot for all the great stuff. I really appreciate the suggestions. I'm still relatively new to jazz and I've really settled and in and found a lot of great music I love with a lot of great material to learn from in the swing and "cool jazz" of the fifties and sixties. I just haven't had a lot of time to really explore other subgenres. Thanks again for the suggestions.

**TheStringslinger** · 02-19-2010, 09:57 PM

I know this original thread is like 2 years old, but if anyone is reading this and interested in Frisell I just posted a transcription of his solo from a recording of "I Got Rhythm" off a Paul Motian album. I thought it would be interesting to hear what he does over a standard with rhythm changes. But I completely agree with what was previously said. You can absorb a lot of what he does by just listening.

Here is my Frisell transcription:
The Stringslinger: Bill Frisell Solo on "I Got Rhythm"

**Turtl3** · 04-03-2010, 09:15 PM

I think Bill Frisell is the best thing I have heard in a long time. It is a nice reminder that talent is not always playing 64th notes at 250bpm. As a matter of fact he is my new favorite jazz musician. Taking jazz to new and better places in my opinion.

**Flat** · 04-08-2010, 07:41 AM

Frisell is definitely my number one cat working these days.

My three favorite CDs from him would be:

1. Good Dog, Happy Man
2. East, West (or even better, imho, "Further East, Further West," which I think you can download only from his website.
3. Floratone, with Matt Chamberlain

If you're just getting into his music, "Best of Frisell, Vol 1: Folk Songs" might be a good place to start.

I've got tickets to see him next week. I catch him every time he comes through town, and it is invariably my favorite concert of the year.

**musicalbodger** · 04-08-2010, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by frisellfan19

The biggest problem with recommended something is that recommendations are based on personal taste. I don't mind giving you recommendations at all, which I've already given you a lot of Frisell albums to check out.

What I like, isn't necessarily what you will like. All I know is I gravitate towards what I consider good music. Again, what's good to me, might not be good to you, but you and I have similar tastes. You like Ed Bickert and Jim Hall and I dig those guys too, but there's so much more to explore than those guys.

Check out John Abercrombie's new album called "The Third Quartet." If you have iTunes you can probably download it pretty cheap. The other album I recommend is a Ben Monder album called "Excavation." Both of these albums are challenging on many levels, because they're not straight-ahead.

When I got into jazz, nobody told me what was good and what wasn't good. Nobody had recommendations for me, so 3500 jazz cds later, I'm still looking...lol.

I don't listen to straight-ahead jazz othe than bebop. I find most straight-ahead jazz too conventional. I love the old bebop music, but there's always something new and exciting about that music.

All I can advise you to do is open your ears to something that's on the outside. I'm not saying go little to free jazz, because I hate that crap, but what I am saying is there's a lot of jazz out there that's not straight-ahead that's really good. You just have to take the time to explore and do the research yourself.

When I first got into jazz, nobody really pointed me into any direction. I just started looking up names and 4500 jazz cds later I'm still looking....lol.

Hey Frisellfan, you mean you listened to another 1,000 jazz CDs whilst you wrote 2 paragraphs. Amazing bit of multi-tasking, man!

**medblues** · 04-12-2010, 08:18 PM

To hear how great an accompanist he can be, and how versatile his playing can be, check out "We'll soon find out" with Joey Baron, Arthur Blythe and Ron Carter.

**Banksia** · 04-13-2010, 02:07 AM

Originally Posted by medblues

To hear how great an accompanist he can be, and how versatile his playing can be, check out "We'll soon find out" with Joey Baron, Arthur Blythe and Ron Carter.

What album is that one? I've got Down Home by Baron w/Frisell. I've got a few Frisells. I think my favourites would be Frisell/Carter/Motian or Further East, Further West (which, as the previous poster said, is only available from BFs website)

**medblues** · 04-13-2010, 06:17 AM

Originally Posted by Banksia

What album is that one? I've got Down Home by Baron w/Frisell. I've got a few Frisells. I think my favourites would be Frisell/Carter/Motian or Further East, Further West (which, as the previous poster said, is only available from BFs website)

http://www.amazon.com/Well-Soon-Find.../dp/B00003W7Y7 came out a few years after "Down Home", I find myself listening to it much more often.

**Banksia** · 04-13-2010, 06:30 AM

Thanks for that.

**medblues** · 04-13-2010, 06:50 AM

For those who want to get a bit of personal glimpse , Utube has a series of seven clips that I watched pretty easily last Sunday:

is the first one.

**Turtl3** · 04-13-2010, 10:59 AM

yes I have watched this as well. I really like the band Bill Frisell has with Curtis Fowlkes on trombone and the guy on violin. really good stuff. to quote Mr. Bill, "jazz is an approach, not a distinct sound"