01	Billy the Kid			Aaron Copland			03:12
	02	Billy the Kid: Street Scene in a Frontier Town			Aaron Copland			01:45
	03	Billy the Kid: Mexican Dance and Finale			Aaron Copland			03:44
	04	Billy the Kid: Prairie Night (card game at night), Gun Battle			Aaron Copland			05:02
	05	Billy the Kid: Celebration After Billy's Capture			Aaron Copland			02:17
	06	Billy in Prison			Aaron Copland			01:33
	07	Billy the Kid: The Open Prairie Again			Aaron Copland			02:34
	08	The "Saint-Gaudens" in Boston Common			from "Three Places in New England", by Charles Ives			00:42
	09	Just Like a Woman			Bob Dylan			04:49
	10	I Can't Be Satisfied			McKinley Morganfield			03:01
	11	Live to Tell			Madonna/Patrick Leonard			10:09
	12	The "Saint-Gaudens" in Boston Common [excerpt #2]			Charles Ives			03:05
	13	No Moe			Sonny Rollins			02:37
	14	Washington Post March			John Phillip Sousa			02:05
	15	When I Fall in Love			Edward Heyman/Victor Young			03:26
	16	Little Jenny Dow			Stephen Foster			03:30
	17	Have a Little Faith in Me			John Hiatt			05:42
	18	Billy Boy			Traditional			01:35

Composers:

Billy the Kid - Aaron Copland

The "Saint-Gaudens" in Boston Common (from Three Places in New England) - Charles Ives

Just Like a Woman - Bob Dylan

I Can't Be Satisfied - McKinley Morganfield

Live to Tell - Madonna/Patrick Leonard

No Moe - Sonny Rollins

Washington Post March - John Phillip Sousa

When I Fall in Love - Edward Heyman/Victor Young

Little Jenny Dow - Stephen Foster

Have a Little Faith in Me - John Hiatt

Billy Boy - Traditional


Have a Little Faith
Date of Release Mar 1992
Styles Modern Creative, Avant-Garde, Post-Bop, Free Jazz

Bill Frisell has long been one of the most unique guitarists around. Able to switch on a moment's notice from sounding like a Nashville studio player to heavy metal, several styles of jazz, and just pure noise, Frisell can get a remarkable variety of sounds and tones out of his instrument. This set features Frisell in a quintet with Don Byron (on clarinet and bass clarinet), Guy Klucevsek on accordion, bassist Kermit Driscoll, and drummer Joey Baron. To call the repertoire wide-ranging would be an understatement. In addition to eight melodies from Aaron Copland's Billy the Kid, Frisell and company explore (and often reinvent) pieces written by Charles Ives, Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, Madonna, Sonny Rollins, Stephen Foster, and John Phillip Sousa. This is one of the most inventive recordings of the 1990s and should delight most listeners from any genre. - Scott Yanow

1. The Open Prairie [From Billy the Kid] (Copland) - 3:11
2. Street Scene in a Frontier Town [From Billy the Kid] (Copland) - 1:45
3. Mexican Dance and Finale [From Billy the Kid] (Copland) - 3:44
4. Priairie Night (Card Game at Night) /Gun... [From Billy the Kid] (Copland) - 5:02
5. Celebration After Billy's Capture [From Billy the Kid] (Copland) - 2:17
6. Billy in Prison [From Billy the Kid] (Copland) - 1:33
7. The Open Prairie Again [From Billy the Kid] (Copland) - 2:34
8. The Saint-Gaudens in Boston Common: Col.... (Ives) - :41
9. Just Like a Woman (Dylan) - 4:49
10. I Can't Be Satisfied (Morganfield) - 3:00
11. Live to Tell (Leonard/Madonna) - 10:10
12. The Saint-Gaudens in Boston Common: Col.... (Ives) - 3:05
13. No Moe (Rollins) - 2:37
14. Washington Post March (Sousa) - 2:05
15. When I Fall in Love (Heyman/Young) - 3:26
16. Little Jenny Dow (Foster) - 3:30
17. Have a Little Faith in Me (Hiatt) - 5:39
18. Billy Boy (Traditional) - 1:38


Don Byron - Clarinet, Clarinet (Bass)
Joey Baron - Drums
Guy Klucevsek - Accordion
Kermit Driscoll - Bass
Joe Ferla - Engineer
Bill Frisell - Guitar, Arranger, Performer
Wayne Horvitz - Producer

1993 CS Elektra/Nonesuch 79301
1993 Elektra/Nonesuch 79301
CD Elektra/Nonesuch 79301
Elektra/Nonesuch 79301




Bill Frisell
AKA real name: William Richard Frisell
Born Mar 18, 1951 in Baltimore, MD
Styles Avant-Garde Jazz, Post-Bop, Fusion, Modern Creative

by Chris Kelsey

The defining characteristic of any given jazz musician is frequently his sound. The more control a player has over the nature of that sound, the more likely he is to project a distinctive musical personality. For example, a saxophonist has virtually unlimited physical control of the sound that comes through his horn, and therefore a wide range of tonal expression at his command - which partially explains the disproportionate number of saxophonists in the pantheon of great jazz musicians. On the other hand, few electric guitarists inhabit that realm, in part because the typical jazz guitar sound differs little from player to player. In general, guitarists do not have the same degree of physical control. Without the use of signal processing - which jazz purists shun - they're mostly stuck with the generic sound that comes out of their amp. Hence, guitarists have historically tended to "sound" more or less the same.

Bill Frisell is a notable exception. Among jazz guitarists, Frisell is unique in his exploitation of variable timbre. Frisell's sound swells and breathes like a saxophonist's (interestingly, Frisell played clarinet as a child). In many ways his sound is reminiscent of a pedal steel guitar. And although his work is steeped in jazz, Frisell is a man of catholic tastes. His music includes characteristics of rock, country, and bluegrass, among various other styles. Such liberality explains his willingness to expand his tonal palette beyond that of the typical jazz guitarist. Where so many conventional jazz guitarists define themselves by how many notes they can play, Frisell has carved a niche by virtue of his sound. His ability as an original, lyrical player of melody combines with a unique (if much imitated) sound to make him one of the most singular musicians of his generation.

Born in Baltimore, Frisell grew up in Denver, CO. He began playing the clarinet in the fourth grade. Frisell took up guitar a few years later for his personal amusement. He continued with the clarinet, playing in school concert and marching bands. Frisell briefly considered playing classical clarinet professionally. He played guitar in rock and R&B bands as a teenager (high school classmates included Philip Bailey, Andrew Woolfork, and Larry Dunn, future members of the funk group Earth, Wind, and Fire). He discovered jazz in the music of Wes Montgomery, and began to study the music. Dale Bruning, a Denver-based guitarist and educator, fed his fascination with jazz. Frisell decided to make guitar his primary instrument. After briefly attending the University of Northern Colorado, he moved to Boston in 1971 to attend the Berklee School of Music. There he studied with Michael Gibbs and John Damian. While at Berklee, Frisell connected with other like-minded players (Pat Metheny was a classmate). He also studied with Jim Hall, who became an important influence, especially in terms of harmony. In the mid-'70s, Frisell began moving away from pure bebop and began fusing jazz with his other musical interests. At about this time he began developing his atmospheric, quasi-mictrotonal style. He discovered that, by using a guitar with a flexible neck, he could manipulate the instrument's intonation. A combination of experimental techniques and signal processors like delay and reverb gave Frisell a sound unlike any other guitarist. In the late '70s he traveled to Belgium. There he met Manfred Eicher, the founder of ECM Records. Beginning in the early '80s, Frisell recorded prolifically for the label, as leader and sideman with such musicians as Paul Motian and Jan Garbarek. He continued with the label throughout the decade, earning a reputation as ECM's "house guitarist." Frisell became much acclaimed by critics for his sophisticated yet accessible work. Frisell moved to New York in the '80s, where he worked with many of the most creative musicians active on the city's "downtown" jazz scene. In the '80s and '90s he would record and perform with a huge variety of artists, not all of them jazz musicians. Collaborators would include rock and pop musicians (drummer Ginger Baker, singers Marianne Faithfull and Elvis Costello), experimental jazz musicians (saxophonist/composers John Zorn and Tim Berne), and at least one classical composer (Gavin Bryars). Frisell composed soundtracks for the silent films of Buster Keaton. His 1996 album Quartet won the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis, the German equivalent of the Grammy. Frisell became an annual winner of various magazine polls for his solo work and recordings. By the end of the '90s, Frisell was one of the most well-known jazz musicians in the world, with an audience and an aesthetic that transcended the boundaries of any given style. It should be mentioned that, while Frisell is best known for his somewhat "ambient" guitar technique, he is a swinging, harmonically fluent jazz player when the occasion warrants. Frisell moved to Seattle, WA, in 1989, where he lives as of this writing.


1982 In Line ECM
1984 Rambler ECM
1984 Smash & Scatteration Polygram
1987 Lookout for Hope ECM
1988 Before We Were Born Elektra
1989 Is That You? Elektra
1990 Where in the World? Elektra
1991 Live Gramavision
1992 Have a Little Faith Elektra/Nonesu
1992 This Land Elektra/Asylum
1995 American Blood/Safety in Numbers Intuition
1995 High Sign/One Week Elektra/Asylum
1995 Go West: Music for the Films of Buster Keaton Elektra/Asylum
1996 Bill Frisell Quartet Nonesuch
1997 Nashville Elektra/Nonesu
1997 Gone, Just Like a Train Nonesuch
1999 Good Dog, Happy Man Nonesuch
2000 Ghost Town Nonesuch
2001 With Dave Holland and Elvin Jones Elektra/Asylum
2002 The Willies Nonesuch
2003 The Intercontinentals Nonesuch