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Bill Frisell: East West

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Elektra Nonesuch
Released: 2005
Time:
 60:16 / 54:58
Category: Jazz
Producer(s): Lee Townsend
Rating:
Media type: CD double
Web address: www.billfrisell.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2016
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


Disc One: West

[1] I Heard It Through the Grapevine (Strong/Whitfield) - 8:00
[2] Blues for Los Angeles (Frisell) - 11:09
[3] Shenandoah (Traditional) - 12:05
[4] Boubacar (Frisell) - 6:22
[5] Pipe Down (Frisell) - 10:50
[6] A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (Dylan) - 11:49


Disc Two: East

[1] My Man's Gone Now (Gershwin/Gershwin/Heyward) - 3:48
[2] The Days of Wine and Roses (Mancini/Mercer) - 9:20
[3] You Can Run (Frisell/Scherr/Wollesen) - 0:51
[4] Ron Carter (Frisell) - 13:59
[5] Interlude (Frisell/Scherr/Wollesen) - 1:39
[6] Goodnight Irene (Ledbetter/Lomax) - 8:57
[7] The Vanguard (Frisell/Scherr/Wollesen) - 4:44
[8] People (Merrill/Styne) - 4:29
[9] Crazy (Nelson) - 4:31
[10] Tennessee Flat Top Box (Cash) - 2:28

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Bill Frisell - Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Loops
Tony Scherr - Bass & Acoustic Guitar on East
Viktor Krauss - Bass on West
Kenny Wolleson - Drums, Percussion

Lee Townsend - Producer, Editing on West
Claudia Engelhart - Enginer on West
Mantis Evar - Assistant Engineer on West
Tucker Martine - Enginer & Mixing on East
Jonathan Chi - Assistant Engineer on East
Jon Evans - Editing on West
Greg Calbi - Mastering
Karina Benznicki - Production Supervisor
Eli Cane - Production Coordination
Martin Lane - Production Assistance
Adam Blomberg - Production Assistance
Barbara DeWilde - Design
Monica Frisell - Photography
Ralph Gibson - Photography, Portraits
Robert Edridge Waks - Editorial Coordinator

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


CD 2005 Nonesuch Records 79863-2

WEST: recorded Live At Yoshi's, Oakland, California in May 8-11, 2004. Edited at San Pablo Recorders, Berkeley, CA
EAST: recorded Live At The Village Vanguard, New York, New York in December 9-12, 2003
Mixed at In the Pocket Studio, Forestville, CA. Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York City.



“It’s hard to find a more fruitful meditation on American music than in the compositions of guitarist Bill Frisell. Mixing rock and country with jazz and blues, he’s found what connects them: improvisation and a sense of play.” —New York Times

Grammy Award–winning guitarist Bill Frisell’s East/West—a live double-disc recorded during a pair of bi-coastal trio engagements—was released by Nonesuch in August 2005. Frisell is joined by Kenny Wolleson on drums and percussion and Tony Scherr on bass for East, which was recorded at New York’s Village Vanguard, and Viktor Krauss on bass for West, recorded at Yoshi’s in Oakland, California.

East and West both feature a mix of original Frisell compositions and popular, standard, and traditional tunes, written by a wide variety of songwriters, including George and Ira Gershwin, Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash. East/West is Frisell’s first full-length live recording on the Nonesuch label. (A special digital-only release of other sets from the engagements—Further East / Further West—was made available for digital release.)

In a career that spans three decades, guitarist, composer, and bandleader Bill Frisell has been hailed by the Philadelphia Inquirer as “a revered figure among musicians.” The paper went on to say that “like Miles Davis and few others, his signature is built from pure sound and inflection; an anti-technique that is instantly identifiable.” Frisell’s recordings over the last decades span a wide range of musical influences. His catalog, including 20 recordings for Nonesuch, has been cited by DownBeat as “the best recorded output of the decade.” Some highlights of his Nonesuch output are Buster Keaton film scores (The High Sign / One Week, Go West); original compositions for extended ensemble with horns (This Land, Blues Dream); soundtracks to Gary Larson cartoons (Quartet); interpretations of work by other classic and contemporary American composers (Have a Little Faith); and collaborations with the acclaimed rhythm section of bassist Viktor Krauss and drummer Jim Keltner (Gone, Just Like a Train and, Good Dog, Happy Man). Other releases include an album with Nashville musicians (Nashville), the solo album Ghost Town, an album of his arrangements of songs by Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach (The Sweetest Punch), a trio album with jazz legends Dave Holland and Elvin Jones, and a collection of American traditional songs and original compositions inspired by them entitled The Willies.

The Intercontinentals, nominated for a Grammy in 2004, is an album that combines Frisell’s brand of American roots music and his improvisational style with the influences of Brazilian, Greek, and Malian sounds. His 2004 release, entitled Unspeakable, won a Grammy in 2005.

© 2005 Nonesuch Records.



The allusion of the title East/West is an apt one; this live double-CD set is a study in contrasts. Recorded just six months apart with two different trios, Bill Frisell really shows both sides of his musical personality. The "East" disc was recorded in December of 2003 at the Village Vanguard with Frisell on guitar (acoustic and electric) and loops, Tony Sherr on acoustic bass and a bit of acoustic guitar, and Kenny Wollesen on drums and percussion. The program here consists largely of well-known standards with a couple brief improvisations and a single Frisell composition. The "West" disc was recorded at Yoshi's in May of 2004 and features Frisell (guitars, loops), Viktor Krauss (acoustic bass), and, well, Kenny Wollesen on drums (no other percussion), but this time the program is half Frisell compositions, a couple pop songs, and the traditional "Shenandoah." On the "East" disc, only three of the ten tunes are longer than five minutes, but on the "West" disc only one track is shorter than eight minutes! The preponderance of standards on the "East" disc keeps the players mostly on the inside tip, even eliciting laughter from some audience members when Frisell hits the intro to the old warhorse "People" (to which he replies, "you think I'm joking or what?"). They do loosen up a bit at the end, for a wonderful arrangement of Willie Nelson's "Crazy" with two acoustic guitars and looping aural detritus, and there's a fun gallop through "Tennessee Flat Top Box." The group improvisations also add a bit of spark. Folks who discovered Frisell in the late '90s with albums like Nashville are going to love this set.

Then there are the folks who discovered Frisell in the '80s as a major player in the downtown new music scene along with folks like John Zorn and Wayne Horvitz (fellow bandmates in the groundbreaking and genre-smashing Naked City band). For them, Frisell seemed to be losing his edge a bit as his trademark skronk was traded for acoustic textures. Richter 858 and the Grammy-winning (!) Unspeakable saw him revisiting that earlier sound to some degree, mainly through more extensive use of delays and loops, but the "West" disc here shows he's really back. "Heard It Through the Grapevine" starts out a bit slow, but right from the outset the delay plays a large role, ping-ponging ugly harmonics back and forth as an intro before hitting the first verse. It gradually picks up momentum, until the delays return and Frisell adopts a roaring backward-sounding tone for the end. "Blues for Los Angeles" has even more great looping, some pretty menacing sounds, and some fantastic soloing. "Pipe Down" (originally on Nashville) gets a much slower deconstructed treatment, then kicks into high gear with a serious groove. This set is way more adventurous than the "East" one, and might surprise some old fans who haven't been paying close attention of late. Frisell retreats a bit from the edge for the last track, a nice reading of "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" where the delay plays little to no role. With both bands, the rhythm section offers great support, but interestingly, Tony Scherr gets a bit of solo space while Viktor Krauss gets none. Then there's the fact that the album is called East/West, but the "West" disc (the later of the dates) is programmed as the first disc, so you listen to the sets in reverse chronological order as well as the opposite of what the title implies (perhaps "West/East" would have been more appropriate). And while this set is indeed a study in contrast, the common thread is the absolute guitar mastery and singular style and tone of Frisell. His use of double stops, open string voicings, and chordal leads in his playing, not to mention that slippery tone, makes him one of the most recognizable voices in music no matter what the context. And it's clear that Frisell is at home in any context, from playing chestnuts like "The Days of Wine and Roses" to John Zorn speed metal. The fairly naked trio context of East/West really gives the listener a chance to appreciate exactly what he can do, no matter which musical direction they're coming from.

Sean Westergaard - All Music Guide



Though he's passed through several phases during the last two decades, guitarist Bill Frisell has manifested an uncanny ability to transport listeners across gaps in time, space, and style. His jump-cut playing with Naked City did this in a blunt and abrupt fashion; recordings from his country-tinged period tugged at the very roots of American string music; and his 2003 Nonesuch recording, The Intercontinentals, leapt boldly across international boundaries.

In a similar fashion, the double live set East/West, assembled from recent dates in New York and Oakland, respectively, is a flying carpet all its own. But what is striking is how very effectively the recording accomplishes this feat, given its extended duration and the fact that these sixteen pieces were spliced together from several days' worth of live performances. If nothing else, you have to credit Frisell with consistency—an attribute that also applies to his trio mates, Kenny Wollesen (drums), Tony Scherr (bass on East), and Viktor Krauss (bass on West).

This music displays several uncommon characteristics: it conveys a deep respect for memory, both musical and cultural; it's somewhat pastoral and imbued with a related organic fertility; and it's saturated with resonant tones. Whether the backbeat or the downbeat takes the pole position depends on whether a given piece may be based in rock/blues/country or jazz (almost all the former). Frisell definitely has an ear for dissonance, but he mostly prefers to use it as a spice, rather than a main ingredient.

The West disc has the most coherent flow. It gets off to a comfortably familiar start with "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," then digs deep into driving, rocking blues on the next piece. So far, so good, so American... but then a six-minute slice of mutated West African blues shows up in the form of "Boubacar" just down the road. This ultra-resonant piece works the backbeat in a much more relaxed, meditative fashion.

The ten pieces on East are more fragmentary, though they have their own high points. A timbrally clean take on "The Days of Wine and Roses" takes a little while to get into its groove, but once the rhythm section kicks in, everything starts swinging nicely. Frisell's relatively short phrases have a conversational aspect, making use of irregular spacing and occasional dissonance. The bright fourteen-minute original "Ron Carter" has some nice give-and-take counterpoint. The one and only real low point is the annoying but mercifully brief "Tennessee Flat Top Box," which takes finger-snapping bluegrass straight into a black hole of noise to wrap the disc up.

Depending on your tastes, especially with respect to loops and effects, the backbeat, blues, and country, you'll get more out of some of these pieces than others. But taken as a whole, this is a creative and consistent collection that begs repeated listens and stands with the very best of Frisell's recorded work.

AAJ STAFF - September 5, 2005
© 2016 All About Jazz



On East/West Bill Frisell proves once again he is one of the most prolific players of his generation. While it's a measure of his success that he's able to pursue a wide variety of projects, the bottom line is his insatiable musical curiosity warrants all the attention he receives. East/West is a two-disc live set, one recorded on each coast. All are trio performances, with drummer Kenny Wollesen playing throughout, Viktor Krauss on bass in California, Tony Scherr in New York. So supple is the interplay that the stylistic change in the two bassists makes for a subtly different character to each of the nights. Frisell focuses on a mix traditional, folk, and even soul in the west; in the east there's a bit more drawn from the jazz canon (though not entirely, as the version of "Crazy" is a marvel as Scherr sets down his bass and picks up an acoustic guitar).

David Greenberger - Amazon.com



Bill Frisell is unquestionably one of the major figures in jazz today, and a revolutionary guitarist who has genuinely changed the way people play and think about the instrument.... One thing that has remained consistent is Frisell's brilliance as a live performer, particularly in a trio setting...

Finally we have "East/West," two discs of live trio recording, "East" with bassist Tony Scherr, "West" with bassist Victor Krauss, and both with drummer Kenny Wolleson. And it was worth the wait: This is the most satisfying record he's released since 1999's "Good Dog, Happy Man," and one of the best of his career.

The two trios are vastly different. In general terms, the Krauss trio works by accumulation, presenting a monolithic block with Frisell using delay and loops to build up layers of sound, and aims to mesmerize, while the Scherr trio, which operates much closer to traditional jazz, works by disruption, refusing to entirely cohere, dislocating phrases mid-thought. Wolleson, essentially a groove player in the Krauss trio (and a monstrously good one), becomes an interactive, improvising presence in the Scherr trio.

In both settings Frisell is a wonder, but if I had to pick a single track that shows the possibilities of what he's capable of these days in a trio setting, it would be the 14-minute "Ron Carter" off of "East." The piece begins with phasing, minimalist textures, and ends with an even more explicitly Steve Reich-ian passage, but in between Frisell lets loose with his full arsenal of sounds. There are plenty of great note improvisers and plenty of great sound improvisers, but very few, like Frisell, have a true mastery of both, and it can be awe-inspiring to hear him manipulating his sound with such creativity while simultaneously playing a solo that Jim Hall would be proud to have formulated. For any skeptics of modern jazz, this should be required listening.

Thomas Barlett - Salon.com



East/West is the 18th album, first double CD and first live album, by Bill Frisell to be released on the Elektra Nonesuch label. Released in 2005, it features performances by Frisell, Viktor Krauss and Kenny Wollesen which were recorded at Yoshi's in Oakland, California on December 9, 2003 (CD 1 - West) and performances by Frisell with Tony Scherr and Kenny Wollesen recorded on May 11, 2004 at the Village Vanguard in New York City (CD2 - East). An additional second set of material from both the "East" and "West" venues was made available as a downloadable album Further East/Further West. The Allmusic review by Sean Westergaard awarded the album 4 stars stating "The group improvisations also add a bit of spark. Folks who discovered Frisell in the late '90s with albums like Nashville are going to love this set.".

wikipedia.org



Bill Frisell, eine Trioaufnahme, ein Doppelalbum, und alles als Live-Mitschnitt: daran kommt man nicht vorbei! Es ist Frisells erste Live-CD für Nonesuch, aufgenommen zur Hälfte in Oakland/Kalifornien (West), zur anderen in New York (East). East/West, der Titel steht auch für ein vielschichtiges Lebensgefühl des sagenhaften Gitarristen aus Seattle: "West", das bedeutet laid back, viel Ruhe, große Räume, keine elektronischen spezial-effects. Die Kalifornienaufnahme ist bis auf einen dynamischen, zupackenden modern jazz-blues ("Blues For Los Angeles") eher schwebend, beinahe meditativ. Im Village Vanguard/New York hingegen zeigt Bill Frisell sich von seiner "traditionelleren" Seite: ein Mix aus Lieblingsstandards und Eigenkompositionen dient als Boden für brillanten, modernen Jazz, wie nur er ihn spielt: swingend, fließend und klar, mit diesen unwiderstehlichen Ecken und Schärfen, die bei Frisell so federleicht und arglos erscheinen, so ganz und gar natürlich. Frisells Phrasierung und seine außergewöhnlichen Klangfarben sind ebenso elegant wie charakteristisch, sein unnachahmlicher Stil zwischen Bop und Blues, Modern und Avantgarde, der ihn bereits ende der 70er berühmt gemacht hat, mischt sich hier und da auch bei East/Westmit typischer, Frisell'scher Countryromantik. Neben den beiden hervorragenden Bassisten Viktor Krauss (West) und Tony Scherr (East) trommelt Schlagzeuger Kenny Wollesen: fantastisch. Wollesen swingt weich und beweglich, kreativ und ganz und gar konzentriert, sein heller, glanzerfüllte Sound ist durch und durch bezaubernd.

Katharina Lohmann - Amazon.de



Wie schon bei seinem umfassen- den Platten-Output aus den letzten Jahren gehen archaische Klänge und elektronische Sounds auch auf Frisells neuem (Doppel)-Album überraschende Synthesen ein. Süßliche Klänge prallen auf frei rotierende elektronische Klang- Splitter, destruktive Rockgitarrensalven messen sich mit dem Jazzkolorit der Begleitinstrumente. Ein spannender Exkurs in Sachen Americana anno 2005." W. Stiefele in Audio 10 / 05: "Purer als Studioaufnahmen zeigt dieses intime Live-Doppel mit zwei Trios, welch feine Verbindung aus Melodien und Harmonien der Saiten- zauberer eingeht. Klassiker wie "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", "Goodnight Irene" oder "Shenandoah" verwandelt er in Country-Jazz-Kleinode.

T. Fuchs - Stereo 10/05
 

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