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Bill Frisell performs one of the most creative and interesting concerts at Indiana's 'Center for the Performing Arts' / NUVO

Bill Frisell’s career as a guitarist and composer has spanned more than 40 years and many celebrated recordings, whose catalog has been cited by Downbeat as "the best recorded output of the decade." In recent years, Frisell has forged a distinctive and fruitful collaboration with the Blue Note label, releasing HARMONY, Valentine and FOUR to great acclaim.

"Frisell has had a lot of practice putting high concept into a humble package. Long hailed as one of the most distinctive and original improvising guitarists of our time, he has also earned a reputation for teasing out thematic connections with his music... There’s a reason that Jazz at Lincoln Center had him program a series called Roots of Americana."  - New York Times

Recognized as one of America’s 21 most vital and productive performing artists, Frisell was named an inaugural Doris Duke Artist in 2012.  He is also a recipient of grants from United States Artists, Meet the Composer among others.  In 2016, he was a beneficiary of the first FreshGrass Composition commission to preserve and support innovative grassroots music.  Upon San Francisco Jazz opening their doors in 2013, he served as one of their Resident Artistic Directors.  Bill is the subject of a documentary film by director Emma Franz, entitled Bill Frisell: A Portrait, which examines his creative process in depth, as well as an extensive biography by Philip Watson, Beautiful Dreamer: The Guitarist Who Changed The Sound of American Music.

NUVO's Mark Sheldon writes…..Bill Frisell and Ambrose Akinmusire performed one of the most creative and interesting contemporary jazz concerts at The Palladium at The Center for the Performing Arts on October 21, 2023. 
 
The concert opened with Ambrose Akinmusire’s Owl Song with Akinmusire on trumpet, Frisell on guitar, and the effervescent Herlin Riley on drums. Highlights for me included Riley’s solo with tambourine - shining a light on his New Orleans roots - followed by Akinmusire’s solo on trumpet. 
 
The Bill Frisell FIVE performed in the second set, with Frisell on guitar leading this collaboration with bassists Thomas Morgan and Tony Scherr and drummers Rudy Royston and Kenny Wollesen.

Individually, I've seen these guys many times in different configurations and Frisell as a solo, trio, quartet, and with strings a couple of times.  While much of the music was likely being created as the music evolved, there was the familiar melody of Burt Bacharach’s “What the World Needs Now Is Love” that wove into the last song to close out the night.         All Photos ©2023 Mark Sheldon

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