In these days of instant media attention, Bill Frisell remains one of the few genuine giants in jazz. I have always been a fan of his music but last night's duo with bassist Thomas Morgan was something of a revelation, the music firmly anchored within the jazz tradition yet demonstrating just how innovative it can be. The gig opened up with Monk's "Pannonica" and then progressed in to Strayhorn's "Lush life." There were a few originals thrown in but the set really put Frisell in to the mainstream zone with the first set concluding with "Subconsciously Lee", a contrafact on "What is this thing called love." For me, this demonstrated more than anything, the guitarist's mastery, the harmonic language of the standard shattered and buckled like an outside version of Jim Hall. The trademark use of pedals and loops underscored the music but was largely used sparingly and to great effect.
The bassist Thomas Morgan was a new name to me. In the past, the role would have been taken by someone like Charlie Haden yet Morgan seemed a nimble and fleet-fingered soloist who was right up tight against Frisell's flights of fancy. After the closing first set, most people were staggered and the sold-out gig gave a large cheer of approval after the initial set. Frisell was clearly playing for a hugely partisan audience and I felt that the atmosphere really brought out some terrific playing from him. The faddish Downtown tendencies are long behind him and what last night witnessed was a stellar performance by one of the few remaining giants in the current scene. Frisell's ability to still surprise was no more in evidence than on "Epistrophy" where the music was at once invigorating and innovative in the way the Monk theme was pulled apart. There were moments when this music swung in it's truest sense with Thomas laying down the kind of walking bass lines that would have done Paul Chambers proud.
Oddly, the most interesting interpretation of the evening after the Monk number was the theme from the James Bond film "Goldfinger." In the past this might have taken on an ironic interpretation but what was apparent last night was that the tune is sufficiently odd to begin with to make it a really compelling tune for jazz improvisation. It offered lots of harmonic potential which certainly surprised me and the guitarist's harmonic language seemed to thrive in this unlikely number. The use of loops only seemed to accentuate the effect and the variety of pedals gave the music added colour. "Goldfinger" was a Frisell masterpiece - akin to the use of unlikely material by the likes of Sonny Rollins.
The gig concluded, the audience gave both musicians a rapturous reception and they were then brought back to do an encore where Frisell explained how his love of music stemmed from the "British Invasion" of the 1960's and that he felt compelled to pay hommage given that he was touring the UK. I expect most people were anticipating a Beatles number and everyone must have been shocked when he launched in to Petula Clark's "Down town." Again, this proved to work surprisingly well, if not as radical as the Bond theme, but clearly it offered the musicians a challenge in addition to feeding Bill Frisell's nostalgia.
This was one of the best gigs I have seen in Southampton for years. Bill Frisell is a musician I have followed for over 30 years and I always felt that he had reached his creative peak in the early 1990s with a string of exceptional albums. Last night seemed to witness an increasing maturity and level of craftsmanship. He remains one of the key catalysts for widening the harmonic language in jazz over the last thirty years and whereas back in the 1980s we might have marvelled at his use of technology to broaden the palette of jazz, the duo with Morgan seemed to reaffirm him back within a more mainstream tradition but with the clout and gravitas that only comes from a career that stretches back about 35 years. To put things in context, Laura Jurd wasn't even born when Bill Frisell started to make a name for himself. It is a shame that musicians of this originally and calibre seem fewer and fewer on the ground these days and the advanced age of the audience as a whole was suggestive that the appeal of this kind of jazz is now broadly within a mainstream consensus - the one person on this board who would have loved this gig more than anyone else would have been Bluesnik.
The bassist Thomas Morgan was a new name to me. In the past, the role would have been taken by someone like Charlie Haden yet Morgan seemed a nimble and fleet-fingered soloist who was right up tight against Frisell's flights of fancy. After the closing first set, most people were staggered and the sold-out gig gave a large cheer of approval after the initial set. Frisell was clearly playing for a hugely partisan audience and I felt that the atmosphere really brought out some terrific playing from him. The faddish Downtown tendencies are long behind him and what last night witnessed was a stellar performance by one of the few remaining giants in the current scene. Frisell's ability to still surprise was no more in evidence than on "Epistrophy" where the music was at once invigorating and innovative in the way the Monk theme was pulled apart. There were moments when this music swung in it's truest sense with Thomas laying down the kind of walking bass lines that would have done Paul Chambers proud.
Oddly, the most interesting interpretation of the evening after the Monk number was the theme from the James Bond film "Goldfinger." In the past this might have taken on an ironic interpretation but what was apparent last night was that the tune is sufficiently odd to begin with to make it a really compelling tune for jazz improvisation. It offered lots of harmonic potential which certainly surprised me and the guitarist's harmonic language seemed to thrive in this unlikely number. The use of loops only seemed to accentuate the effect and the variety of pedals gave the music added colour. "Goldfinger" was a Frisell masterpiece - akin to the use of unlikely material by the likes of Sonny Rollins.
The gig concluded, the audience gave both musicians a rapturous reception and they were then brought back to do an encore where Frisell explained how his love of music stemmed from the "British Invasion" of the 1960's and that he felt compelled to pay hommage given that he was touring the UK. I expect most people were anticipating a Beatles number and everyone must have been shocked when he launched in to Petula Clark's "Down town." Again, this proved to work surprisingly well, if not as radical as the Bond theme, but clearly it offered the musicians a challenge in addition to feeding Bill Frisell's nostalgia.
This was one of the best gigs I have seen in Southampton for years. Bill Frisell is a musician I have followed for over 30 years and I always felt that he had reached his creative peak in the early 1990s with a string of exceptional albums. Last night seemed to witness an increasing maturity and level of craftsmanship. He remains one of the key catalysts for widening the harmonic language in jazz over the last thirty years and whereas back in the 1980s we might have marvelled at his use of technology to broaden the palette of jazz, the duo with Morgan seemed to reaffirm him back within a more mainstream tradition but with the clout and gravitas that only comes from a career that stretches back about 35 years. To put things in context, Laura Jurd wasn't even born when Bill Frisell started to make a name for himself. It is a shame that musicians of this originally and calibre seem fewer and fewer on the ground these days and the advanced age of the audience as a whole was suggestive that the appeal of this kind of jazz is now broadly within a mainstream consensus - the one person on this board who would have loved this gig more than anyone else would have been Bluesnik.
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