Happy 75th Birthday Bill Frisell!

Celebrating guitarist Bill Frisell's 75th birthday with a timely performance of a Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn classic and more. 

Watch The Bill Frisell Trio in action!

Check out Bill Frisell and crew playing "You Only Live Twice" in Berlin and a recent set for GroundUp in Miami Beach. 

Happy Birthday Michael Gibbs!

Celebrating the birthday of composer/musician Michael Gibbs with a performance featuring pals Bill Frisell and Gary Burton.

R.I.P. Curtis Fowlkes, 1950-2023

Sadly, trombone great and Jazz Passengers co-founder Curtis Fowlkes has passed away at 73. He'll be greatly missed. 

LINKS

The Free Jazz Collective Curtis Fowlkes

Happy Birthday Bill Frisell

Celebrating the birthday of guitarist Bill Frisell with an interview, a few performance clips and a 1997 Dutch documentary.

R.I.P. session guitar great Dennis Budimir, 1938-2023

Sadly, guitar ace Dennis Budimir – who played on hundreds of TV and film soundtracks – has passed away. He'll be greatly missed. 

Iggy Pop vs. Leonard Cohen

Iggy Pop recently covered Leonard Cohen's "You Want It Darker" off the tribute comp Here It Is due Oct 14th from Blue Note. 

Here's the scoop from Blue Note...

Blue Note Records has announced an October 14 release date for Here It Is: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen, a remarkable new album produced by Larry Klein that presents stunning renditions of the legendary singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen’s profound songs performed by an extraordinary line-up of vocalists: Norah Jones, Peter Gabriel, Gregory Porter, Sarah McLachlan, Luciana Souza, James Taylor, Iggy Pop, Mavis Staples, David Gray, and Nathaniel Rateli­ff. Hear Taylor’s sublime version of “Coming Back to You” which is available to stream or download today. Here It Is can be pre-ordered now on D2C exclusive color vinyl, black vinyl, CD, or digital download. For more info, visit the Blue Note site right here. Check out the album preview clip below. 

“Leonard Cohen had been a friend since 1982 or so, and in the last 15 years of his life, he became a close friend,” says Klein. “He was possibly the wisest and funniest friend that I had, and someone that I enjoyed, immensely, in every way. After he passed away, I found myself frequently covering his songs with other artists that I was working with. One reason, of course, is that the songs are so good—in a certain way, Leonard is the best pop songwriter ever—but the other reason was that it helped keep him in the air around me.”

So Klein decided to assemble an album’s worth of Cohen songs, matching vocalists from different genres with an exceptional core band of jazz-based musicians—or, as he puts it, “a group of the most prescient and forward-looking musicians in the jazz world”—guitarist Bill Frisell, saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, pianist Kevin Hays, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Nate Smith with additional contributions from Greg Leisz on pedal steel guitar and Larry Goldings on organ.

The album’s 12 tracks offer a range of Cohen’s compositions, with songs drawn from his beloved 1967 debut Songs of Leonard Cohen all the way up to selections from his final album, You Want It Darker, released just days before his death in 2016 (listen to Leonard Cohen's original recording followed by Iggy Pop's new version below). The set covers some of his best-known classics and less familiar deep cuts, all given new life through thoughtful and unexpected arrangements and performances. The resulting collection is ultimately reminiscent of the concept that guided Klein’s production of Herbie Hancock’s 2007 album River: The Joni Letters, which won the GRAMMY Award for Album of the Year (and on which one of the featured singers was, in fact, Leonard Cohen).

“It was an immensely gratifying experience to recontextualize these poems, and shine a different light on them,” Klein continues. “I hope that this musical language that we developed together, the context that we put these things in, makes the songs connect with people in a new way.”

You can get a copy of the Leonard Cohen tribute Here It Is via your platform of choice right here. 

Here It Is: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen

Steer Your Way – Norah Jones

Here It Is – Peter Gabriel

Suzanne – Gregory Porter

Hallelujah – Sarah McLachlan

Avalanche – Immanuel Wilkins

Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye – Luciana Souza

Coming Back to You – James Taylor

You Want It Darker – Iggy Pop

If It Be Your Will – Mavis Staples

Seems So Long Ago, Nancy – David Gray

Famous Blue Raincoat – Nathaniel Rateliff

Bird on The Wire – Bill Frisell

 

Julian Lage shares performance of "Word For Word" from his View With A Room LP

Guitarist Julian Lage is joined by fellow string bender Bill Frisell on his new View With A Room album due in September.  

Here's the scoop from Blue Note HQ...

Guitarist Julian Lage returns with a stunning new album View With A Room, the follow-up to his acclaimed 2021 Blue Note debut Squint, which the Associated Press called “an exuberant, engaging, endlessly inventive exploration of styles.” This time Lage expands his versatile trio with bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King into a quartet with the addition of fellow guitarist and Blue Note labelmate Bill Frisell. View With A Room presents 10 compelling new original compositions by Lage that explore a wide range of guitar sounds and textures with these two distinctive master guitarists seamlessly blending their unique 6-string styles. 

Check out a performance of "Word For Word" by Julian Lage's trio following the View With A Room track listing below. You can pre-order a copy of the album – with an intriguing 80s ECM-style throwback sleeve design – directly from Blue Note right here. 

Julian Lage – View With A Room

1. Tributary

2. Word for Word

3. Auditorium

4. Heart Is a Drum

5. Echo

6. Chavez

7. Temple Steps

8. Castle Park

9. Let Every Room Sing

10. Fairbanks

Happy Birthday Bill Frisell

Celebrating Bill Frisell's birthday with a trio performance accompanied by drummer Rudy Royston and bassist Thomas Morgan. 

Happy 70th Birthday Bill Frisell!

Celebrating Bill Frisell's 70th birthday with a few recent performances. Catch his Trio live at the Village Vanguard March 18-21.

Quarantunes: Bill Frisell Trio

Bill Frisell, Rudy Royston & Thomas Morgan knocked out a sweet version of "What The World Needs Now" in Brooklyn. 

Watch Yo La Tengo cover the Dream Syndicate and The Ramones

Yo La Tengo were alternately joined by Bill Frisell & Rob Zabrecky and then Greg Hetson & Fred Armisen for a punk rock encore. 

Happy Birthday Buddy Miller!

Here's Nashville singer/guitarist Buddy Miller talking about his gear and playing a George Jones classic with Marc Ribot and Bill Frisell.

Ron Mann's doc Carmine Street Guitars @ NYC's Film Forum, April 24 to May 7

Kirk Douglas of The Roots happened to stop by Rick Kelly's shop Carmine Street Guitars while Ron Mann was filming his excellent documentary.

Carmine Street Guitars The mystique of the Greenwich Village as a haven for bohemians, artists, and musicians lives on (just steps from Film Forum) at Carmine Street Guitars: Rick Kelly and apprentice Cindy Hulej build handcrafted, one-of-a-kind instruments from wood salvaged from the city’s defunct buildings. (Unfazed 93-year-old mom Dorothy keeps the books and answers the phone.) Nothing looks or sounds like Rick Kelly’s guitars, which is why they’re embraced by Lou Reed and Patti Smith, among others. A week in the life of the shop features visits from its devoted clientele: Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith Band), Dallas & Travis Good (The Sadies), Kirk Douglas (The Roots), Eleanor Friedberger, Nels Cline, jazz guitarists Bill Frisell and Marc Ribot, and filmmaker/composer Jim Jarmusch. Watch the trailer and a Q&A with filmmaker Ron Mann below. Check the links for screenings and tickets.