鈥淔our,鈥� Bill Frisell (Blue Note)
Guitarist Bill Frisell鈥檚 new jazz quartet album is like a stimulating conversation among friends who swap quick quips and insights, the shifts in mood frequent and unpredictable. The ensemble effort emphasizes inventive interplay and the collective colors created, rather than solos or flashy riffs.
As longtime fans know, Frisell can play anything while sounding like no one else. On 鈥淔our鈥� he often plays a supporting role, generously sharing the spotlight with Gerald Clayton on piano, Johnathan Blake on drums, and Gregory Tardy on tenor sax, clarinet and bass clarinet. There鈥檚 no bass, and the album鈥檚 foundation instead is simultaneous improvisation as the musicians build on Frisell鈥檚 skeletal compositions and react to each other measure by measure.
A delightful variety results. Quirky rhythms and intervals make the happy 鈥淗oliday鈥� jittery and skittery, and 鈥淏lues from Before鈥� is equally funny and fun, while 鈥淎lways鈥� improbably bridges genres as a country fugue. 鈥淐laude Utley鈥� and 鈥淲ise Woman鈥� sound neoclassical, and sepia tones distinguish the lyrical 鈥淒ear Old Friend (For Alan Woodard).鈥�
The closing 鈥淒og on a Roof鈥� unfolds slowly, free of a beat for the first 2 1/2 minutes. The band then settles into a blues and swirls around a four-note figure, immersed in one final collaborative triumph.
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Steven Wine, The Associated Press
