History, Mystery

This was a gift and it arrived early for the Christmas season. My friend is really enjoying it.

Overview:
In History, Mystery Bill Frisell combines elements of the many different styles and genres he has dabbled with over the years into one cohesive story telling album. You can hear elements of Appalachia (ala The Willies), string orchestrations (ala Unspeakable), ambient soundscapes (ala Floratone), great horn lines (Blues Dream), African jazz (ala the Intercontinentals) and quirky odd Friselldoms (ala The Rambler). Basically Bill has gone into his bag of tricks and combined the many magical things he can do into one dreamy CD. At first listen it's a bit much to take in and for fans who are not wild about violins, the string orchestrations might seem a bit too far from jazz. However, after several listens the clever crafting of the songs and the great interactions between the musicians reveal themselves. The overall mood of the album is somber, tragic, intense and dramatic.

Performers: Bill Frisell (electric & acoustic guitars & electronics), Ron Miles Cornet, Greg Tardy (tenor sax, clarinet), Jenny Scheinman (violin), Eyvind Kang (viola), Hank Roberts (cello), Tony Scherr (bass), Kenny Wolleson (drums)

Song Highlights:
Probability Cloud - This song reminds me a lot of Miles Davis' performance of Manuel de Falla's "Will O Wisp" from Sketches from Spain. It has a bit of Spanish tango feel to it. The combined orchestration of strings and horns in the main melody line is beautifully done.

Struggle - Just a killer bass line melody with backing strings. This is perhaps the catchiest song on the CD. Frisell's harmonics over the time are perfectly placed to. Not too much, just a touch here, a note there, plenty of space to let it breath.

Baba Drame - Better than the original Frisell version from Intercontinentals. It sounds like the song was meant for a string section.

Struggle Part 2 - Completely different version of Struggle. Same song, different mood. This version is great because Frisell really lets loose and rocks out a killer guitar solo.

Waltz for Baltimore - Featrues lengthy passionate sax solo by Greg Tardy. Greg really gets all his frustrations out in this brilliant solo.

This might be remembered as Frisell's greatest album. I'm not ready to say it's my favorite, but its really growing on me, and I feel there's a lot of subtle things left for me to discover here.

I have been listening to Bill for years now and he has always had an impact on my artistic vision. Being a musician myself, I have enjoyed a rich appreciation for Frisell's music, both inspiring and listenable. It isn't very often that an artist is able to revamp a style, yet here he has done it once again. Combining orchestral instruments in a jazz context is nearly impossible without sounding forced. As you know if you enjoy Bill's music, he rarely if ever forces anything and this record is perfect! Every time I hear a new recording I think it's my favorite, but "History" is special in that the song order creates a unique flow lost in the digital world. Remember, "Gone, Just Like a Train", it's that good... Enjoy!

Bill Frisell leads an octet over the 30 mostly short songs that make up "History, Mystery". He has a very good group -- Ron Miles on trumpet, Greg Hardy on sax, Jenny Schienman, Eyvind Kang & Hank Roberts on strings, Tony Scherr on bass, and Kenny Wollesen drumming. The songs generally have a creative dreaminess about them. The closest touchstone to this CD is Frisell's "Have A Little Faith". One thing contributing to dreaminess is that many of the songs show up more than once, so there's 40 seconds of "Answer #1" then later 110 seconds of "Answer #2". For all of the interesting miniatures, the longer songs with longer solos stand out -- "Baba Drame", "A Change Is Gonna Come", "Struggle", and "Waltz For Baltimore". Greg Hardy's solo in "A Change Is Gonna Come" is a highlight of the CD. Given that this CD has more players, Frisell's guitar is downplayed and he also doesn't step on his distortion pedal. It's more about Frisell the bandleader and composer and not the guitar hero. At 90 minutes, it's a long CD, but it doesn't seem long, which is a compliment. Bill Frisell fans should absolutely pick this one up. Anyone curious about Frisell would find this a good starting place as well.

The pieces of music on this album were done by a professional bunch of folk who for some time have been going on in a certain direction. It's the first Frisell album I ever bought, so I can't say much about the guy's past. Anyawy, most pieces on this album are sad. Some of them are repetitive and boring. Few have interesting compositions. All in all it's a pleasant affair. It's the kind of music some people would want to listen to sitting in an old rocking chair and looking at the post-sunsent with a glass of fine Cognac on the side, thinking about nothing in particular.