Customer Reviews

Quartet

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This outing is on the outer fringes of eclecticism even by Bill's standard with this wild ensemble. The odd instrumentation succeeds in making extremely modern music that swings (without a drummer!), is humorous, tranquil, totally Bill. This date is still a fresh sound five years later into Bill's explorations of old-timey meets whatever. Even after Bill's more recent projects, if this album were coming out now, for the first time, it would sound like a wild new direction/addition to what he's been up to. A continually enjoyable listen.

Truly amazing work from a truly amazing guitarist and composer. Here, Frisell plays with the odd quartet of guitar, violin, trumpet and trombone. This ensemble has to be heard to be believed! The album mostly features Frisell's soundtrack work, including the Gary Larson animation "Tales From The Far Side" - these tracks are amazing, particularly the atmospheric title track to the cartoon, and "Bob's Monsters". The foursome also have some pretty wild jams between tracks.

Is there anything that Bill Frisell can't play? He's done Jazz, Rock, Americana, World, Orchestral and every hybrid that could be created by cross pollinating these five flowers. Along the lines of 1993's "Have A Little Faith," this is an orchestral project combining elements of Jazz, Rock and Americana. Regardless of the quirky performances, "Bill Frisell Quartet" has a cartoonish sound since the music is played with trumpet, tuba, piccolo trumpet, violin, trombone and guitar. Indeed, this 1996 release sounds like a demented and dark animation score. Much of the music could be the soundtrack to a bad acid trip: dark, powerful, psychedelic and beautiful in an unsettling sort of way. While nightfall permeates the album, there is a surprising amount of comedic relief. 'In Deep' is a good ol' fashioned hoedown while 'Prelude' and 'What?' exercise Frisell's atmospheric minimalism. Enthusiasts of the "Bill Frisell with Dave Holland and Elvin Jones" disc will enjoy hearing orchestrally arranged versions of 'Coffaro's Theme' 'Twenty Years' and 'Convict 13.' Being one of the strongest tracks, 'Egg Radio' has since become a staple of Frisell's live shows. While not the most accessible album in his discography, this release showcases Bill Frisell's compositional abilities.

This wonderful line-up works very well. The first cut is simply awesome and the rest are quite good. To try to compare Frisell to any other guitarist is pointless. He has a distinct sound and style. If you like guitar music though you must have some Frisell in your collection. This should not be you first Frisell purchase (Good Dog... is a great place to start) but if you like the unusually pairings on This Land and Have a Little Faith this one's for you.

Atmospherically inclined, and often laid back at that, Quartet can be as texturally alluring as anything else, but ultimately plays out underwhelming when stacked against even this sole giant's beguiling repertoire

This is really a nice and imaginative collaboration of unconventional line-up (with some really fine musicians), drawing from various genres of jazz and other types of music...
I'm not really familiar with Frisell's work but this is really creative.
Additionally, I think that wider non-jazz audiences might really like this blend of styles and different ideas...

However (maybe because most of this material is developed as soundtrack for various film and tv projects), at times some songs sound not completely developed as background music....

The line-up:
Eyvind Kang (vi,tuba), Ron Miles (tp, piccolo trumpet), Curtis Fowlkes (tb), Bill Frisell (electric and acoustic guitars)

Charming music from the inventive Frisell, with the unusual lineup of guitar, trombone, violin and trumpet. Much of the music derives from a soundtrack to an animated Gary Larson cartoon special (Larson is a keen jazz guitarist & buddies with Frisell), & without having seen it I would still guess the music fits it perfectly, with its mixture of ponderous weirdness and surreal whimsy. -- Such a link might suggest one of the album's flaws: it's charming, beautiful, immaculately played, &c...but is it Frisell's most substantial work? I'd have to say not. Like a lot of Frisell's work (I hate to say it), this is so utterly _nice_ that I find myself hankering for a little more (and as you'll know if you've seen the man in concert, that niceness is 100% genuine--try sampling his bashful intro to the superb trio album _Live_ on Gramavision, for instance). Frisell _can_ be rawly impassioned--check out his work on Gavin Bryars' _After the Requiem_, for instance--but here I feel a little stifled by the album, for all its creativity.