Meeting
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After excelling in intimate contexts, the American guitarist joined forces with the Brussels Philharmonic and the Umbria Jazz Orchestra for “Orchestras”, a double album performed flexibly and without killing the desire to improvise.
The last time we spoke with him was in January 2011 during some wonderful Lagrimas Mexicanas with Vinícius Cantuário. What happened since then? “A lot of things, in my life and in the world. I don’t really know where to start.” smiles Bill Frisell, installed in his Seattle office. So let’s start again from the final sentence he spoke to us, in the bar opposite New Morning (Paris, 10th) where he was supposed to perform with his Brazilian friend a few hours later. “Melody is something more and more important to me. When you listen to Monk, it catches your eye: the power of emotion that the song evokes.
Thirteen years later, this sentence could be the key to listening to his new double album, simply titled Orchestras. At the head of his trio, the guitarist, who often stood out in intimate contexts, is associated with the Brussels Philharmonic, flexibly led by Alexander Hanson, then with the Umbria Jazz Orchestra, onztet under the direction of Manuele Morbidini. Enough to, with more or less luck, enroll in the club of jazz players who realized the fantasy of the strings that developed alongside them. We will place this album in the first category, the arrangements of which should bring back happy memories to fans Cityscape Michael Brecker illuminated by Claus Ogerman, or even the multiple shades of goldsmith Gil Evans. On a thin thread, Bill Frisel