Mary Halvorson and Bill Frisell Make Guitar Duo Album

Somewhere around mid-to-late August I learned that two of my favorite musicians, guitarists Mary Halvorson and Bill Frisell, had released a duo record called The Maid with the Flaxen Hair.  That's past tense.  Made.  Released.  As in available as of July 2018 and therefore already out now at this very moment.  Why was I just then finding this out?  Weeks earlier I could have been listening to it, if only I had known.  Maybe you are finding out right now, as you read this.  I instantly went in search of this music. 

It wasn't easy to instantly find.  Spotify didn't have it.  (The album is on the Tzadik label, whose stuff isn't usually on Spotify.)  It also wasn't on Bandcamp.  Fine, I'll order it on vinyl, I thought.  Nope it's not available on vinyl.  That sucks.  It is on CD, but who buys CDs any more?  Still I wanted to hear it ASAP so I was willing to purchase the CD and then convert it to digital upon delivery (the only CD player I still have is on an old laptop).  But then, luckily, after first searching and not finding it, I found it on Amazon ready to be downloaded.  Finally, instant gratification.

And it's as awesome and refreshing as I had hoped it would be!  

Instead of each contributing original material, Frisell and Halvorson meet on middle ground by covering music associated with the sophisticated and dare I say easy listening 1950's era guitarist Johnny Smith, whom they both admire.  I'm not that familiar at all with Johnny Smith, nor am I that well versed in the jazz canon, so most of these melodies outside of Shenandoah were new to my ears.  Not complaining, but how many times does Bill Frisell need to record Shenandoah?!

I like the idea of interpreting songs from the golden era in a project like this because these standard(?) tunes bring with them very strong melodies.  Having that classic structure in place can give two adventurous musicians plenty of material to work with and build up from.

Now to the listening part.  Would it be cliche to say that Mary and Bill contribute exactly equally?  By that I mean neither guitarist outshines the other.  If anything they attempt to out humble each other.  This is not the multi-generational competitive battle of virtuosity or egos that it could have devolved into.  No, the two guitars blend in a delightfully cooperative way that is way more meditative, and far less noisey, flashy or "out" than one might expect.

It's not always easy to tell who is playing what, but if I had to guess I would say it sounds like Bill is playing more lead stuff and Mary is doing more accompaniment, but I'm not sure if those traditional roles even apply here.  And who knows, I could have it backwards.

I definitely know it's Mary when I hear her signature pitch-shifting.  She has yet to ever stray too far from that, no matter what the setting is.  In Bill's case he seems to play things fairly cleanly, but there is the presence of the delay/looper effects he is known for.  Hearing these innovative guitarists' immediately recognizable and iconic individual characteristics being played in tandem, as on Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair, is quite satisfying.

Frankly, I'm not really listening to hear who is doing what...instead I'm just bathing in the calming sound this beautiful work induces.  I'm so happy this music now exists and it came out better and more tasteful than I could have ever imagined.

A Peak Musical Experience in New York City

I had my sights set on attending the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN this past weekend. But, when it became apparent that my wife and I would only be able to attend for two of the four days and therefore miss certain performers and ensembles I started looking for alternatives to the 7 hour drive to Knoxville.

I then saw that Bill Frisell was going to be at the Village Vanguard in New York City that same weekend. More research revealed flights to New York were cheap for that day, tickets for both of his sets were still available, and what looked like a great little hotel in the West Village had vacancies for that night.  And so it happened.  But as great as Bill's two sets at the Vanguard were, that wasn't the peak musical experience in New York City.

The details aren't important, but after a series of rejected alternatives - as if an unseen hand were guiding me - I ended up in The 55 Bar on Christopher Street at about 5:15pm after having arrived in NYC that morning.  What attracted me to the place was its reputation as a dive bar that dated back to the prohibition era.  It can be difficult to find a cool place after say 4:00 in the afternoon in the Village:  previously empty old man's bars can suddenly become filled with NYU students and loud tourists.

The 55 Bar wasn't like that.  A little after 5pm on a Saturday there were just a few people at the bar, Tom Petty and David Bowie music was playing on the jukebox, and Guinness was on draft.  It was going to be a nice, chill place to hang for a little while before we figured out what to eat before queuing up for Bill Frisell's set at the Vanguard.  Little did I know that less than an hour later I would be seeing and hearing some of the best live music I have ever experienced.

The atmosphere was so nice there at 55 Bar that we didn't want to leave.  The kick-ass lady bartender said there was going to be good music starting soon and that we should stay.  If we needed to eat there was a taco place around the corner where you could get food to go and bring it back in.  So that's exactly what I did.  In the time it takes to pour a Guinness I had gone to pick up four tacos and come back.  A few more people had entered the bar.  And by a few I mean a lot.  The place was suddenly pretty packed.  And before I even noticed a band had started.

I feel dumb saying this but at that time I was only familiar with the band Snarky Puppy by name, so I didn't realize that this "random jazz band" I was checking out featured Michael League (the founder of Snarky Puppy) on bass, Chris Bullock (of Snarky Puppy) on sax, and Ross Pederson on drums (isn't he in that band too?).  I could just tell that these guys were good and that the singer they were backing up was phenomenal.

Her name is Alina Engibaryan.  She's a fantastic songwriter, one of the best jazz singers you've ever heard, and her keyboard makes the most amazing, crunchy vintage sound.  Her music was like a more complex Norah Jones "Come Away With Me".  Here's a snippet I recorded on my phone.  I wish I had recorded the whole set. If you know of a recording of this set please let me know.

Her music is a little more poppy than I'm used to, but having seen the organic live at 55 Bar version I know it's the real deal.  And with that backing band (Michael League, bass; Chris Bullock, saxophone; Ross Pederson, drums), her jazz-informed songs were elevated to a level that was complete ear candy.  The sound in 55 Bar - the acoustics in what is essentially a no-nonsense, no-attitude, cash-only bar - was probably the best I've ever heard in a venue like that.

I guess everybody else must have known just who it was they were watching play, but to me in that moment I was just watching complete unknown musicians make jaw dropingly cool art.  Even though the room was at capacity, with people lined up outside to get in, the vibe in there was respectful, conscientious, and ultra attentive.  We stayed for Alina's entire first set, which caused us to line up later than I would have liked for Frisell.

The line outside the Village Vanguard for Bill Frisell's early set on 3/24/18

It would be hard to say that anywhere in the Vanguard is bad, but where we were seated was not ideal.  None of that mattered when Frisell began.  With him he had Rudy Royston on drums (the secret weapon), Thomas Morgan on bass and Eyvind Kang on viola.  Bill's opening number stretched for well over 20 minutes and that's no exaggeration.  The second tune was really two tunes and the waiter was already bringing by the check for your "one drink" before it ended.

When the set was done the room cleared but we were allowed to stay since I had tickets to both of Bill's sets. We got to sit wherever we wanted this time and chose a little raised up two-top on the right with a fantastic view of the stage.  For the 2nd set I ordered a Long Island Iced Tea and it almost did me in, but I squinted and made it through.  I almost liked Bill's first set better - it had more improv - but in the 2nd set he played this little miniature electric 12-string guitar which was really cool.  And once again, Rudy Royston kicked ass.

Not being super late night people, we headed straight to the room after Bill's 2nd set, which ended after midnight anyway.  It wasn't until I woke up not hungover thank goodness the next morning (who doesn't love New York on a beautiful Sunday morning?) that I started to realize that even though the whole point of the New York trip was to see Bill Frisell, the real musical highlight happened two hours before he played.  I started Googling and only then started to realize who it was that I had seen the night before.  Alina Engibaryan and her band was one of those peak musical experiences - the kind that you always remember.

24 Hours in Greenwich Village and 10 Things To Do

I'm just back from a touristy overnight stay in New York City -- about 24 hours from morning to morning.  I knew that most of the time was going to be spent in Greenwich Village, the iconic neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan, so before going I made a list of ten things to do while there.  Those were:

1. Walk the High Line
2. Sip on a Caffeinated Beverage at Cafe Reggio
3. Sip on an Alcoholic Beverage at the White Horse Tavern
4. Re-Enact Bob Dylan's Freewheelin' Album Cover
5. Catch a Set of Jazz at The Village Vanguard
6. Check Out the Historic Foodie Shops on Bleecker Street
7. Ogle the Exotic Instruments at Music Inn
8. Visit Washington Square Park
9. Walk Out Onto Pier 45 and Look for the Statue of Liberty
10. Find "Old" New York

Here's how that plan turned out!

Walk the High Line (Success!)
Although most of this this former elevated rail line turned public park is in the Chelsea neighborhood directly north of Greenwich Village, the Southern end of it does put you out on Gansevoort St. in what amounts to the northwest edge of the Village. It's a pretty easy walk from Port Authority (bus station) or Penn Station (train station) to the northern entrance(s) of the High Line.  We found the High Line with no trouble at all and walked a mile plus on it in frigid, windy, 20-degree March weather!  There are even a couple vantage points where you can see the Statue of Liberty off in the distance.  Walking along this above ground urban pathway was a brisk way to start the day.

Laura on the High Line. Statue of Liberty far far in background.

Me on the High Line. Not crowded on 20 degree day!

Sip on a Caffeinated Beverage at Cafe Reggio (Success!)
Caffe Reggio is the oldest coffee shop in Greenwich Village, circa 1927.  It was also the first place in the United States to serve cappuccino. I'm willing to bet this historic caffe stays pretty busy, so we were fortunate to walk in and find a nice, cozy table straight away on a super cold morning.  Classical music was playing softly over the speakers.  The poetic atmosphere was everything one could have hoped for and we lingered for quite some time over latte and espresso.  That was exactly the experience I was hoping to have here.

Latte and Espresso at Caffe Reggio.

Sip on an Alcoholic Beverage at the White Horse Tavern (Success!)
Poet Dylan Thomas once drank 18 shots of whiskey at this establishment...and then died shortly thereafter.  Jack Kerouac was also kicked out of the bar several times.  And, oh yeah it was built in 1880.  Lunch time was a good time to duck in for a drink.  It wasn't crowded yet and, surprisingly, hardened regulars outnumbered the few tourists that walked in.  I sat at the bar, sipped on a well poured Guinness, and took it all in.  This time the house music playing was pleasant jazz.

Too cold to sit outside today at the White Horse Tavern.

Re-Enact Bob Dylan's Freewheelin' Album Cover (Somewhat Success!)
The cover of Bob Dylan's second album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, depicts the songster walking down a wintry New York street in a light jacket with then girlfriend Suze Rotolo clutching his arm.  The photo was taken in Greenwich Village on Jones Street between W. 4th Street and Bleecker (facing W. 4th Street).  The street hasn't changed that much in the 50+ years since.  It was probably about the same temperature (25 degrees) during the Dylan photo shoot, but instead of thin jackets we were bundled up with several layers.  There was also no photographer handy so a selfie it was.

Standing on the street where Bob and Suze stood in 1963.

Catch a Set of Jazz at The Village Vanguard (Definite Success!)
New York is still the hub of jazz in America, if not the entire world, and the Village Vanguard is arguably the most prestigious jazz club in the world; certainly the most famed in New York.  This was pretty much the whole point of going to New York for just one night.  On short notice I had seen that Bill Frisell was doing a two-week residency at the Vanguard so off we went.  Did I mention that it was cold this day?  That probably prevented most people from lining up early, so when we arrived 15 minutes before doors there were only about 4 or 5 people in line in front of us. This meant that upon entering I was able to select THE BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE for seeing one of my all-time favorite musicians in THE MOST legendary jazz club.  A dream-like dream come true.  Bill played in a trio format with the drummer Rudy Royston and bassist Thomas Morgan.  Let me just say, Royston is a kick-ass drummer.  Bill was in peak form, but some of that credit goes to Royston for help taking him there.  I got what I needed from that set!

My view for Bill Frisell, Thomas Morgan and Rudy Royston at the Vanguard.

Check Out the Foodie Shops on Bleecker Street (Success!)
This list is out of sequence, because after walking the High Line we made a B-line to Bleecker Street to sample the little cluster of venerable food shops between 6th and 7th Avenue, offering cheese, meats, coffee, tea, sweets, baked goods and more.  The $1 arancini (stuffed rice balls) at Faicco's Italian Specialties are the stuff of legend and deservedly so, as we found out.  Yeah, yeah...everybody talks about those and now I do too.  After walking around and adding some tea, bite-sized Bantam bagels and a NY pizza slice to that mix my stomach was feeling pretty sated.

Bill Frisell stood behind these pedals. I sat right in front of them. 

Ogle the Instruments at Music Inn (Fail)
This music shop on West 4th Street opened in 1958; a true holdover from the bohemian folk age.  Within its walls are hundreds upon hundreds of exotic instruments from around the world.  I was looking forward to seeing what they've got but then totally forgot to look it up when in the area.  Oh well, not everything could go exactly as planned.

Stone Arch. Washington Square Park.

Visit Washington Square Park (Very Brief Success!)
Washington Square Park - with its stone arch and fountain area - is a focal point in the Village.  On nice days people gather all over the park, but on this cold, cold day it was quite barren.  We were there just long enough to say we saw it.  I made a point of seeking out the "Hanging Elm".  Located in the northwest corner of the park, this urban-legendary tree remains the oldest tree in New York city.  Fun fact: over 20,000 bodies are buried under Washington Square Park.  The area where the park is now was once used as a burial ground for the unknown, the indigent, and victims of the yellow fever.  Creepy!

Hangman's Elm.

Walk Out Onto Pier 45 and Look for the Statue of Liberty (Fail)
This pier and green space juts out about 850 feet into the Hudson river, offering views of Hoboken, New Jersey as well as the Statue of Liberty.  That's all well and good but it was too damn cold to fool with trying to do that on this day.  Briefly taking off my gloves to take the above pictures was battle enough against the freeze.  Maybe on a nice summer day, yes.  Besides, we had already seen the Statue of Liberty off in the distance from the High Line and we didn't need to walk out on the water in that wind.

Find "Old" New York (Success?)
It may be cliche to go to Greenwich Village in search of wistfulness, but I would call this a successful attempt.  Yes, the folk scene that hatched Bob Dylan is long, long gone, although a few stubborn jazz clubs, cafes and vintage pubs do remain.  And unfortunately (?), after about 3 or 4pm it seemed like every formerly quaint restaurant or quiet pub had suddenly turned into a boisterous scene with club music playing at volumes that anyone over 40 is probably not going to appreciate.

However, in the morning hours (you know, "brunchtime"), in the just the right light, the Village does seem to retain its classic hue of days past.  You can almost imagine encountering a Welsh poet drinking his final whiskey, or a jazz musician playing with fierce passion, or crossing paths with an old folkie on Macdougal street.  Wait a minute...I did cross-paths with an old folkie on Macdougal street!  Village resident Steve Earle was walking by himself, minding his own business, when I managed to stammer out "Hey Steve, big fan of your music" as he passed by.  To which he replied "I appreciate it man" and then just kept on walking to wherever he was headed. Probably the gym.

It's amazing what 24 hours in New York can do for you.  It would be impossible to ever replicate this experience but I'd be willing to give it a try all over again, fully expecting different results.

Six Bill Frisell Tunes on Tenor Banjo

Bill Frisell with Lucy (photo by Monica Frisell)

Over the last two months I've started to play a half dozen new tunes that are either Bill Frisell compositions or closely related to him.  I'm always looking for unusual new tunes to play - simple, distinctive melodic pieces that would be enjoyable to interpret on tenor banjo.  The selections below were all recorded on the couch in my living room in a span of about 30 minutes starting at about 8:30 this morning (July 30, 2016).  I love to get up early on a Saturday morning and start playing banjo.  This is what I would have been doing anyway. I just happened to have a recorder going this time so that these could be documented.

The tune that really got me interested in attempting some Bill Frisell stuff is We All Love Neil Young from Bill's Big Sur album.  I was instantly drawn to the melody and it seemed like I was almost able to play the notes the first time I ever tried.  I later had some help figuring out a couple of the pesky bits.  I don't have good, consistent timing here because I'm just playing it solo and I'd rather just play it than pause for the beats that are supposed to be there.  This melody shows up in other places on the Big Sur album.  Song for Lana Weeks for example.

Next is I Am Not A Farmer from the Disfarmer album.  This is another great example of a very simple - very Frisell like - melody.  It's actually quite similar to We All Love Neil Young.  If you listen to the Disfarmer album all the way through, this melody shows up multiple times under different names.  I struggle with what to do with the B-part since it's so sparse.  On the actual recording there's what amounts to a 3rd part that is just an E-minor chord for a few measures.  I don't really know how to make that work in a solo arrangement, so I just skip that sequence and make it an AA/BB tune.

The 3rd tune I recorded this morning is Uele, which I think is an African (Congolese) children's song.  The full title might be Uele Moliba Makasi.  There's a video of a Bill Frisell concert from the Barbican Theater in London 2/29/2004 featuring Djelimady Tounkara, Greg Leisz, Jenny Scheinman and Sidiki Camara where they play this tune. That's where I heard it. I don't think it's on any officially released Frisell recordings.  What I play is a loose, evolving interpretation of it that comes out different every time.

Speaking of Jenny Scheinman and Sidiki Camara -- Jenny Scheinman has a tune she wrote called Song for Sidiki which I'm assuming must be for djembe player Sidiki Camara.  Scheinman is a frequent collaborator with Bill Frisell and Song for Sidiki is one they often play together.  All of these tunes so far, and especially Song for Sidiki, are exactly what I'm looking for right now.  Relatively simple in structure, with a cool A part and (sometimes) a weird but even cooler B-part.

Bill Frisell has a tune on his Blues Dream album called Pretty Stars Were Made to Shine that is so traditional in its melody and chords that when played as a fiddle tune it sounds just like an old folk song that you can't quite place. Almost too standard. It sorta reminds me of Sweet Sunny South or maybe Uncloudy Day. I was fooling around with it, trying to decide if I liked it enough to add it to my repertoire, and as part of this experimentation played it in A-minor instead of A-major.  I instantly liked it better in A-minor.  It all of a sudden sounds more Middle-Eastern or something.  It's basically just a one-part tune. I would love to find a B-part for it but I haven't yet.  In this recording I toggle between major and minor (which gives it the impression of a two-part tune), and then I add an ending tag inspired by the end of Pretty Flowers Were Made for Blooming, its sister-song from the Blues Dream album.

Perhaps the most difficult Bill Frisell tune I've attempted so far is one of his earlier compositions - Amarillo Barbados.  I like it because it's got a funky Caribbean feel to the A-part, paired with an odd, almost Camper Van Beethoven-ish B-part.  I changed the key for this to make the notes easier to reach.  I wasn't expecting to be able to record this today.  Usually I make too many flubs to get all the way through, but I managed to somewhat capture it one take despite being constantly on the verge of collapse the whole time!

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Bill Frisell: An Anthology - Song Book

Until this past weekend I didn’t know there was a published book of Bill Frisell compositions but there is! It’s called Bill Frisell: An Anthology. If I had known about this book prior to now I would have bought it years ago. Soon I will have a copy though.

An Anthology was first published in 2001 so it only includes Frisell's work up through that year’s Blues Dream album, but it still contains over 80 pieces dating all the way back to Throughout from 1983’s In Line. Other tunes include Amarillo Barbados, Lookout for Hope, Rag, Strange Meeting, Egg Radio, Verona, Monroe, Poem for Eva and Ron Carter. The full contents are below.

In the preface Frisell says “I’d rather not try to explain too much about how any of this music might be approached, but let the notes speak for themselves. When I’ve played these pieces over the years with my various groups, they’ve been a jumping off place – hopefully with something new happening each time. There’s no real set way to approach them. I hope that anyone else playing them will try to find her own way – changing the tempo, orchestration, whatever. They’re not really meant to be played just like the record. I hope the music in this book will be of interest not only to guitar players. Some of it was written with guitar in mind, but much of it is presented like a score and could be arranged in any number of ways, for any instrument(s).”

On writing, Frisell says, “I’m not a fisherman, but writing for me is something like what I imagine fishing to be. There’s this huge ocean of music surrounding us, moving by us all the time, and if we’re patient, quiet, and sit there long enough, a melody will come along”.

Bill Frisell: An Anthology contents 1 of 2

Bill Frisell: An Anthology contents 2 of 2

Recently I’ve been trying to play along with some of Frisell’s more approachable single-line melodies, such as We All Love Neil Young/Song for Lana Weeks from Big Sur and Farmer/I Am Not A Farmer/Small Town from Disfarmer. Hopefully we are due for An Anthology Volume 2 because arguably Bill’s best work has come in the 15 years since this initial collection was published.

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Steve Korn's Talking Pictures Blog - Featuring Bill Frisell

Seattle-based photographer Steve Korn has a blog called TALKING PICTURES, on which he asks jazz musicians Leading Questions, such as "When I'm playing well __________", and "I've never understood _________".  I became aware of Steve Korn's blog when I saw that he had done a Leading Questions with guitarist Bill Frisell.  Below are some highlights from Bill's succinct responses.  The comments by other musicians in this series are worth reading as well!

Bill Frisell with clarinet (photo by Steve Korn)

Someone once told me "Music is good."

When I was 14 I got my first electric guitar!

Practice makes me feel good. 

When I look at where I’m at right now, I think I'd better get started. 

Some of my best ideas come to me as a gift when least expected. 

Fear is part of the deal. 

Motivation is not something to take for granted. 

Discipline is something I could use more of. 

I’ve never understood politics. 

The future of jazz is happening. 

The history of jazz is overwhelmingly rich with beauty, mystery, and reveals infinite possibilities for the future. 

The clarinet was my first instrument.

Bill Frisell and Billy Martin played with Phil Lesh!

I'm a long-time fan of the Grateful Dead and even got to see them play a few times in 1994 and 1995 while Jerry Garcia was still alive.  Despite this, I don't often pay a whole lot of attention to the different lineups of "Phil and Friends" that Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh often puts together, although I respect his exploration of the Grateful Dead songbook and the way these various ensembles can find new paths of improvisation within these old songs.

When I saw a Tweet last week that mentioned that guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Billy Martin had performed two full sets on 4/22/15 (Earth Day) with Phil at his Terrapin Crossroads home venue in San Rafael, CA I took notice.  Jazz guitarist Bill Frisell is one of my favorite musicians, although I have never associated him with Grateful Dead music.  Drummer Billy Martin is definitely one of my favorite drummers and probably does have more of a connection to the jamband scene via the fanbase of Medeski, Martin and Wood - the esteemed improv trio that he is a member of.  Bill and Billy jamming with Phil was an unanticipated dream come true.

I was sure Billy Martin could sit in with no problem, but I didn't know how Bill Frisell would do in this setting, which might consist of unfamiliar material that is outside of his comfort zone.  I also wondered how he would be received by the Deadhead audience?  Watching the first set it seemed that Bill was a little unsure of himself and his role, and was not well acquainted with the songs.  But, as the first set progresses you can see Frisell learning what treatment the music calls for and gaining trust in his fellow musicians, especially in the more open, improvisatory moments.  As expected, Billy Martin's playing sounds very natural throughout, almost to the point where you forget that this is also his first time (?) collaborating with Phil Lesh.

To fill out the band, Phil employed his long-time cohort Rob Barraco on keyboards and a guy that I was unfamiliar with named Dan Lebowitz on guitar and pedal steel.  Having Barraco in the band helped provide structure where it was needed, and Barraco more than holds his own when things get more exploratory.  I was impressed by Barraco's playing abilities in a way that I never had noticed before.  Lebowitz is obviously familiar with the material and does a fair job in this highly-advanced musical conversation.  Perhaps he could have backed off a little bit at times and let the music breathe more?

The 2nd set began in the biggest way possible with a Dark Star that rose and fell and then rose again to unimaginable heights.  From there on the rest of the 2nd set consists of some of the best in-the-moment music making I've ever heard, with each musician reaching for the apex of his abilities.  As Bill Frisell gains more confidence he is able to add his "Frisellian" stamp to these songs.  The unmistakable sound of Frisell's voicings on these Grateful Dead themes is something I never thought I would hear.  When paired with the Billy Martin's drumming and Phil's quintessential bass, it's a wonderful mix.

Having read the setlist in advance I was looking forward to hearing the stand-alone When You Wish Upon A Star encore, while also being a little trepidatious, not knowing how that would go over.  Would it be a letdown that seemed in lieu of a more powerful encore such as a Shakedown Street or Help on the Way?  Never fear.  When You Wish Upon A Star is so exquisitely beautiful that it perfectly summed up the vibe of the music that had just transpired over the last 3+ hours, in a way that didn't need any addendum.

This seems like a once-ever occasion, but I would love to hear these guys get together again! There's an intimacy to this performance and a level of hear-a-pin-drop listening coming back from the audience that can only be achieved in a smallish room such as the one where this show took place.

The Guitar Artistry of Bill Frisell - Harmony Transcript

There's a 5-part video now on YouTube called The Guitar Artistry of Bill Frisell.  It's from a 1996 instructional DVD where the guitar genius attempts to describe for others what he does so well.  I found video 3/5 of particular interest, so I have transcribed Bill's esoteric and custom-fit words below.  Starting about 2:40 into the video Bill says:

"Any song that I play, the melody - I always say that - it's just so important.  It gives an architecture to what you improvise.  If you combine all the theoretical knowledge you've learned - chords and scales and patterns - and keep that melody going, that's what can give you your own individual sound, really.  (plays melody)

There was the melody alone and for me that's a beautiful thing.  It's a complete... you don't need to play big fat chords or re-harmonize. If you add the bass notes, then the melody and the bass notes... that's getting pretty full there.

It also gets into some odd fingerings because you're thinking... You have to find ways - usually on the upper strings - to play melody, and then you've got a couple strings left to find a bass note that might... so a lot of times you end up with these odd, what could be considered wrong, ways of playing.  Like again, not in a position.

I'm just sort of... Sometimes I don't even know where I'm gonna end up, but I know there's an F there, there's an open D there.  But what I'd like to say is that once you get that sort of outside skeleton together, then you can start looking for little other notes in between, still not thinking of full chords but...

Some of the things we were talking about before with these scales that run together, notes that run together, I like to use smaller intervals, like 2nds; that's a big sound with only a couple of notes.  I'm gonna try to think of... I'm gonna still use the melody and the bass as my frame, and then I'll be a little freer with... Maybe I'll limit myself to 2nds or something, and think of something to put in between. (demonstrates this)

That's another thing, that I was lucky enough to be able to study with Jim Hall.  He showed me some things, like where I was talking about playing up and down on one string.  If you start adding intervals to that, like go through all the intervals.  Again, this could take your whole life.  (plays)

There's a C major scale.  If you do it in 4ths, or 2nds.  I use that a lot with bass-line melody and then try to think... Find intervals that have a color that you like, or some quality.  Another thing that's interesting to me is to use the melody as a statement, and then sorta think of... Sorta like having a conversation with yourself.

Play the melody and then answer what the melody is saying with either another phrase or a chord.  Like, comp for yourself or whatever.  But that can go on... I could do that all day.  Like, keep playing the melody and then, you know, you could... The melody is what gives me ideas, even to play things that are wrong just to see what they sound like.  (plays)

I don't even know what I did there, but if you keep hearing melody it can also give you more freedom to find harmonies that maybe aren't even in the key.  Or just think of sounds."

My First Taste of Jamming

For someone who grew up listening to improvisational music (Grateful Dead, Phish, Medeski Martin and Wood, and several 90's jambands not worth mentioning), my music playing thus far has been surprisingly devoid of improv.  I've been content to play basic tunebook notation versions of Irish and oldtime tunes.

Any forays into the realm of "soloing over chord changes" have felt extremely un-fun and uncomfortable so I've completely avoided it.  Even though I host a trad/roots music "jam", there's no real improvisation required on Irish jigs and oldtime fiddle tunes which is what drew me to those types of melodies in the first place.

However, over Christmas I had the opportunity to play with a Deadhead guitar strummer who expected me to pick up the chords and take solos to songs like Bertha, Dead Flowers and a Dylan song I've forgotten the name of.  (All songs I had heard before but never tried to play).  It was a very low pressure, hanging out kind of environment, and instead of hating it I actually kind of relished it.

I'm sure what I was doing sounded pretty bad.  I still have a hard time hearing chord changes and it's hard to solo over the chord changes if you can't even figure out the chord structure.  The fact that I'm used to flat-picking tunes and thinking melodically helped a little even if I didn't always pick up on what the chords were.

Anyway...this kind of has me wanting to play more music in this style.  I like the idea of taking a folk song with a simple chord structure and using it as a foundation for practicing improvisation.  The two best practitioners of of this I can think of are Jerry Garcia and Bill Frisell.

Consider Garcia's interpretations of songs such as Catfish John, Peggy-O, I've Been All Around This World and Last Train from Poor Valley, as well as some of the Garcia/Hunter originals like Loser, Candyman and It Must Have Been the Roses. Bill Frisell's experiments with folk and country standards have included Cluck Old Hen, Goodnight Irene, Shenandoah, Lost Highway and Sitting On Top of the World on his The Willies, East/West and Further East/Further West albums.

Trey Anastasio has said in interviews that he believes that musicians are channels - stewards of the music for a brief period of time.  You can see evidence of this everywhere - from a symphony orchestra to the timeless sounds of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.  I feel like I'm just now starting to see the potential for joy one can get from playing music.  It's like a river that pulls you along.  I don't want to be tied to a genre or style or restricted in any way with music...I just want to play it.