Bill Frisell's latest album, Disfarmer, is out now. The Observer gives it four stars, finding it done "brilliantly" by "guitar maestro" Frisell. The Independent gives it four stars as well, calling Frisell "not just the outstanding jazz guitarist of his era but also the most diversely prolific," following, as the album does, his recent "sublime compilation" of Folk Songs. Four more stars from the Evening Standard, describing Frisell's soundscape as "a peaceful world where the twin streams of jazz and country-and-western meet in gentle confluence." The Boston Phoenix sees Frisell as "one of jazz's great impressionists" and Disfarmer "the perfect subject for one of his audio mini-movies."
Bill Frisell's latest album, Disfarmer, is due out on Nonesuch next week. For the album, which sets to music the images of the late photographer Michael Disfarmer, Frisell is joined by Greg Leisz on steel guitars and mandolin, Jenny Scheinman on violin, and Viktor Krauss on bass. You can hear the entire album until release day on npr.org for an Exclusive First Listen.
The Observer Music Monthly gives the album four stars, stating: "this could be one of Ry Cooder's projects, but Frisell (guitar maestro, adaptable dude) does a similar thing brilliantly."
The Independent gives it four stars as well, finding interestingly different comparisons for the guitarist and his diverse interests. "Even Damon Albarn and Jack White have some distance to go to equal the genre-bending achievements of Bill Frisell," says reviewer Andy Gill, "not just the outstanding jazz guitarist of his era but also the most diversely prolific, equally at home providing accompaniment to Buster Keaton movies as he is collaborating with Elvis Costello."
Before looking further into the new release, Gill reminds readers of Frisell's previous Nonesuch release, the "sublime compilation" that is The Best of Bill Frisell, Vol. 1: Folk Songs, released earlier this year. He then goes on to describe a few select tracks off the new record, starting with the tone-setting opening track, featuring "Frisell's characteristically glistening guitar lines accompanied by violin and glints of pedal steel guitar."
Read the complete review at independent.co.uk.
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There's still another four-star review in the Evening Standard's picks of CDs of the Week. The paper's Jack Massarik describes Frisell's soundscape as "a peaceful world where the twin streams of jazz and country-and-western meet in gentle confluence." Refering to the images and Depression-era environment of the album's namesake, Massarik concludes, "Bill's plaintive sketches for guitar, bass, violin and lap-steel guitar cleverly evoke those gritty times." Read more at thisislondon.co.uk.
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Stateside, the Boston Phoenix gives the album 3.5 out of 4 stars. Reviewer Jon Garelick describes Frisell as "one of jazz's great impressionists" and Michael Disfarmer "the perfect subject for one of his audio mini-movies." Garelick praises Frisell's fellow musicians as well, calling them "one of his superb chamber-country bands," and the music they've crafted: "Melodies drift in over understated shuffle rhythms, lift off in fiddle arias, dissolve in loops and soft clouds of electric guitar harmony." Read the full review at thephoenix.com.
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