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Thread: Any Bill Frisell fans out there in TFFland?

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    Any Bill Frisell fans out there in TFFland?

    I just picked up The Guitar Artistry of Bill Frisell DVD from the local library. Holy cow! It's not really so much of an instructional vid as much as a conversation about Bill's playing & techniques. He's a great player. At times he looks like he has no idea what he's doing, & I mean that as a compliment. He's very fresh to me. He pauses & hesitates while he's playing, like you are seeing him create on the spot, thinking of new & different directions to go w/a passage.
    If you are into jazz I can't recommend this DVD enough.

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    Forum Member phantomman's Avatar
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    Re: Any Bill Frisell fans out there in TFFland?

    TJ sent me a link to a coupla his live performances......he is ab-zurdly aw-zumm!

    "When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."

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    Forum Member clayville's Avatar
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    Re: Any Bill Frisell fans out there in TFFland?

    I'm by no means a wiz on the Frisell canon, but I do really like the only one I have: Good Dog, Happy Man. Pretty bluesy, crisp, clean... and he really lets the tracks breathe.

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    Re: Any Bill Frisell fans out there in TFFland?

    I checked into Frisell basically because of posts about him here. He's amazingly good. His Tele's what makes this performance with Elvis Costello great (on Costello's music/talk show, Spectacle). He plays exactly what's needed, no more, no less, and it's great:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yekGSC4xxpc

    (Where is TJ, anyhow? He hasn't posted in a while. Have you heard from him, PM?)

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    Re: Any Bill Frisell fans out there in TFFland?

    He's pretty funny, too. Discussing his effects, he says, "This one gives a subtle effect... (strums chord) here's without... (strums chord again)...sounds exactly the same. Maybe I don't need this one!"

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    Forum Member phantomman's Avatar
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    Re: Any Bill Frisell fans out there in TFFland?

    Kewl link, Eli!!!

    The vids I saw were Bill wif a three-piece ensemble (drums, stand-up bass) in a small auditorium. The man knows a Telecaster!

    TJ has been......busy.

    (PM me off-board for the particulars)
    "When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."

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    Forum Member NTBluesGuitar's Avatar
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    Re: Any Bill Frisell fans out there in TFFland?

    Quote Originally Posted by elicross View Post
    (Where is TJ, anyhow? He hasn't posted in a while. Have you heard from him, PM?)
    Roger hinted I might like this thread...so I'm poppin' in to check it out.

    I am a HUGE Frisell fan. Saw him live in my little town just north of Dallas a few years back and it was a show that I will never forget. Here's a link to my 'review' of the show. The trio he had for that show here is the same as in this clip:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hbq13bLylCY

    That's a long clip, but take the time to let him take you on the whole journey if you can. I listen to that clip all the time...amazing. He never over-plays.

    Allrighty, back to my world for now...
    "...pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field;
    that, of course, they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little,
    shriveled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome, insects of the hour."

    -Edmund Burke

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    Forum Member clayville's Avatar
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    Re: Any Bill Frisell fans out there in TFFland?

    Pretty darn cool way to dust off an old chestnut here:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svzv-YkUzdk

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    Re: Any Bill Frisell fans out there in TFFland?

    I just went back & re-read that thread about the show you attended in Denton. Very cool.

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    Forum Member pseudocat's Avatar
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    Re: Any Bill Frisell fans out there in TFFland?

    Huge Frisell fan here. He's an amazing player -- great textures, a fantastic sense of economy; super melodic playing, too.

    Gone, Just Like a Train and Good Dog, Happy Man are a couple of my favorite albums, to be certain.

    I haven't seen the DVD you mentioned; now I gotta check it out.
    There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness".
    -Dave Barry

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    Re: Any Bill Frisell fans out there in TFFland?

    Quote Originally Posted by NTBluesGuitar View Post
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hbq13bLylCY

    That's a long clip, but take the time to let him take you on the whole journey if you can. I listen to that clip all the time...amazing. He never over-plays.
    Damn. Wes who?

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    Forum Member NTBluesGuitar's Avatar
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    Re: Any Bill Frisell fans out there in TFFland?

    Quote Originally Posted by clayville View Post
    Pretty darn cool way to dust off an old chestnut here:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svzv-YkUzdk
    Man, his versions of Shenandoah are killer. The version on East-West is even better, IMO.

    Quote Originally Posted by 71818 View Post
    I just went back & re-read that thread about the show you attended in Denton. Very cool.
    It was the event of a lifetime for me. Going to be real hard to top.
    "...pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field;
    that, of course, they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little,
    shriveled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome, insects of the hour."

    -Edmund Burke

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    Re: Any Bill Frisell fans out there in TFFland?

    Here's a quote from Bill I found in the July '92 issue of Guitar Player Magazine:
    "...in the harmony classes at Berklee, they'd have 'avoid notes', notes you weren't supposed to use over a particular chord. Naturally, those were the first ones I'd check out."

  14. #14

    Re: Any Bill Frisell fans out there in TFFland?

    Saw him a couple months back at a place here in Seattle called The Triple Door. It was a duo with Russell Malone. 2 hours of the two of them trading songs, absolutely amazing. Bill definately does some different things with Jazz (lots of open strings). Watching him is kinda funny because he looks like a little kid getting all excited watching and playing with Russell. The most amazing thing I noticed...he doesn't keep time like anyone I've ever seen...no foot taps, wagged knee's or bobbing of his head...nothing. He's got it down perfect.

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    Forum Member NeoFauve's Avatar
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    Re: Any Bill Frisell fans out there in TFFland?

    Here's a link to an article about him from GQ magazine, back in '97.
    Found it accidentally and read it in a brake shop, while waiting for my truck. Took the magazine with me.
    No detailed breakdown of his gear or technique, it's GQ, but it's a real revelation about him and an appreciation of him and his regard for music.
    It also includes a great drawing of him, by Gary Larson.
    "Well, I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused..."
    Elvis Costello

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