Denver Jazz, a newly formed 501 (c)(3) Colorado nonprofit corporation has added headliners Joe Lovano’s Paramount Quartet, Indian trace singer, Ganavya, and the Colorado Mambo Orchestra to its inaugural Denver Jazz Fest lineup scheduled from April 3-6, 2025.
On July 30, Earl Klugh released HandPicked, a soulful, sixteen-track solo/duet recording featuring special guest guitarists Vince Gill and Bill Frisell and ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro.
In my early development as a guitarist, I had aspirations to play as well as Jim Hall one day. Jim Hall and Ron Carter’s Alone Together is one of the main records that inspired me to learn how to play jazz guitar, and his melodic inventiveness maintains my attention even until this day. I saw him perform at the National Guitar Workshop this past summer, and his playing did not cease to surprise me.
In this interview with one of the most influential jazz guitarists alive today, we discuss his duet recording with Ron Carter as well as many other things. I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did!
Guitarist Bill Frisell and his trio were framed in red curtains and white spotlights on stage at the Barns, the winter haven for artists who perform at the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Virginia.
For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the music of Bill Frisell, or maybe more to the point, that you might find it difficult to pinpoint exactly what it is that he does and what genre of music he plays, you’re probably not alone. He is, after all, constantly changing directions in his musical endeavors. From jazz, to American folk and blues, to some combination of the two, his music always manages to bear the stamp of his unique musical voice. On the 2009 release of Films of Buster Keaton by Bill Frisell, the guitarist once again explores new musical territory in his homage to the silent-era films of Buster Keaton.
Bill Frisell’s unique guitar work and musical excursions in his installment of Solos: The Jazz Sessions are nothing short of awe-inspiring and unconventional. As with much of Frisell’s output, he has demonstrated again and again how he has become a master of his own guitar idiom.
Bill Frisell ranks in the top tier of guitarists from his generation, alongside such luminaries as John Scofield and Pat Metheny. His recorded output is arguably as eclectic as any living artist. Previous projects have ranged from trio records with jazz greats Dave Holland and Elvin Jones, contemporary collaborations with producers Hal Wilner and Lee Townsend, as well as a collection of Americana and folk-tinged albums for the Nonesuch record label.
