Advertisement
Advertisement

Bill Frisell: Valentine

In brief:
"Valentine represents the more reserved, gentle approach to music that he demonstrated on albums like 1992’s Have A Little Faith. Nonetheless, it is still a highly original album, delivered with the ability and skill of a veteran jazz guitarist"

Recorded at the culmination of over two years touring, Valentine presents Bill Frisell’s trio with Thomas Morgan on bass and Rudy Royston on drums. Frisell has had his avant-garde associations since the 1990s, but Valentine leans more toward traditional jazz, incorporating the influence of folk and Americana.

The opening track, Baba Drame, is a winding, bluesy piece, led by Frisell, who improvises around a melody on clean electric guitar; Morgan and Royston provide a crescendoing accompaniment as Frisell’s improvisation builds in intensity. However, as the album continues, elements of the avant-garde – recalling perhaps mostly notably Frisell’s time with John Zorn’s Naked City – begin to seep in.

Advertisement

Open-string noise, jarring effects and harmonic dissonance all complement his playing, though they are used reservedly, and without the gritty distortion one might expect. Instead, it is Frisell’s ability as a guitarist that is the primary force. For example, the title track is a more straightforward jazz composition than may be expected, showing Frisell’s skill as a jazz guitarist first and foremost, yet utilising a dissonant melody throughout.

The tracks stitch together seamlessly, with instrumental continuity, yet each with their own individual style. For example, Winter Always Turns To Spring uses delicate, shimmering reverb, accentuating Frisell’s dynamic playing. On the other hand, the ninth track, Wagon Wheels, opens with a dry acoustic bass, before opening up as Frisell and Royston provide harmony and rhythm with warm guitar and stripped back drums. The cover of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s What The World Needs Now Is Love is highly original, with Frisell simultaneously referencing and exploring the original harmony.

Being so far into his career, it is interesting to see how Frisell’s music has evolved. Valentine represents the more reserved, gentle approach to music that he demonstrated on albums like 1992’s Have A Little Faith. Nonetheless, it is still a highly original album, delivered with the ability and skill of a veteran jazz guitarist.

Discography
Baba Drame; Hour Glass; Valentine; Levees; Winter Always Turns To Spring; Keep Your Eyes Open; A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing; Electricity; Wagon Wheels; Aunt Mary; What The World Needs Now Is Love; Where Do We Go?; We Shall Overcome; The Great Flood; Dance; Back At School In Newark (74.27)
Frisell (elg, g); Thomas Morgan (b); Rudy Royston (d). Portland, 2019.

Latest audio reviews

Advertisement

More from this author

Advertisement

Jazz Journal articles by month

Advertisement

Jack DeJohnette: Sorcery

The modal jazz and moody noodling reflects the 1970s fascination with mind-blowing but DeJohnette was better on the 1974 ECM album Timeless
Advertisement

Obituary: Martial Solal

Born in Algiers to Algerian Jewish parents, Martial Solal was encouraged in music from an early age by his mother, an amateur opera singer....
Advertisement

Wayne Shorter: one of the last modernists

The novel arrangements of harmony and melody in the saxophonist’s early 1960s work formed a landmark in the last decades of jazz modernism
Advertisement

Prehistory Of Jazz

Maximilian Hendler minimises the significance of Africa in the development of jazz, pointing out that much came from Europe
Advertisement

The Frank Sinatra Show with Ella Fitzgerald

This TV show, made 10 December 1959 for the ABC Television network, was intended as an outside broadcast but fell on a rare rainy...
Advertisement

JJ 01/80: Warne Marsh – Warneout

Although his style changes little over the years, Marsh remains one of the most inventive communicators of the last four decades. His beautiful sound,...
"Valentine represents the more reserved, gentle approach to music that he demonstrated on albums like 1992’s Have A Little Faith. Nonetheless, it is still a highly original album, delivered with the ability and skill of a veteran jazz guitarist"Bill Frisell: Valentine