Bill Frisell - How He Plays Surprising & Beautiful Things

[@JensLarsen]

So by now I have pretty much all of them. Who did I miss? 🙂

[@davystrangename]

Mike Stern!

[@JensLarsen]

Next Week! :)

[@plopzoppers3921]

have you done Tal Farlow yet?

[@JensLarsen]

No, haven't done any Tal Farlow! What's a good track/album?

[@plopzoppers3921]

@@JensLarsen his autumn leaves is a great interpretation of it. I like out of nowhere, meteor, and yesterdays too

[@mannoplanet]

I've seen him probably 8 times live. I love his playing and I love that every time he hits a note his expression is delight like a kid having made something good and beautiful.

[@DaveElke]

always a great lesson, presented so well. I am a huge Bill fan, and this is really helpful. thanks

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you, Dave 🙂

[@thenickguitar4928]

More Frisell stuff please! Awesome video!!

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you Nicholas! I will for sure try to do more Frisell along the way! Any suggestions? 🙂

[@JayFrederick]

Just wanted to agree with Nicholas here. My suggestion would be maybe something from one of those "Fretboard Journal" performances. Something solo (or maybe duo like the one with John Pizzarelli). This way we could see him playing it and everyone would have access to the performance. It also nice that youtube gives the slow down option. I know I need it!!.. haha.. Thanks for the great content!!!

[@jameshaff6574]

Poem for Eva or ghost town would be really cool!

[@marike1100]

Had the great pleasure of studying saxophone with Joe Lovano and he used to play with and talk about Bill Frisell all the time. Motion and Frisell, those were his dudes. If you get a chance to see the Bill Frisell movie, it's excellent. Cool guy, great innovator.

[@JensLarsen]

That most have been awesome! Lovano is such a monster! I do indeed need to see that movie!

[@charlietaylor8813]

These bitesize lessons really are superb. So enjoyable to watch and try stuff out. :)

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like them!

[@DESIENASHOES]

Great lesson, I do like much Bill Frisel -- so mix of different styles_

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you Francesco! Frisell is such a great guitarist! 👍🙂

[@lindsayblack766]

Awesome lesson Jens! Thank you for this. Looking forward to joining the Jazz Guitar Roadmap!

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you! See you over there 🙂

[@jameshaff8104]

More Frisell Would be much appreciated, love your lessons!

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you very much James! I certainly plan to return to Frisell! 🙂

[@That52TeleGuy]

A coworker turned me onto Bill years ago telling me to check out the Blues Dream album, I was blown away, fan ever since. Also he plays jazz on a Tele 😊

[@trukapipa]

In the 80s I often heard John Abercrombie included in the list of influential modern jazz guitarists as the one that started the era of "the big four." Would love to see a video on Abercrombie from that perspective. More than that I want to say what a treasure you are, Jens, to the online guitar community. Thank you and keep up the great work on your channel!

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks! I did videos on specific players for a year and most people are not really interested, so it doesn't make sense to spend 2-3 days making a video like that, Sorry 🙂

[@plopzoppers3921]

I was just ending my day and wondering about what to watch and I see Jens drops this. Meant to be!

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks George! I have another video tomorrow on favourite Jazz Guitar Albums of KZbinrs. It's a collaboration with Ben Eller, Learn Jazz Standards, Jazz Duets, Rick Beato and some others! It's going to be great! 🙂👍

[@plopzoppers3921]

@@JensLarsen wow sounds great

[@JensLarsen]

Tal Farlow video in the making! 🙂

[@TheCompleteGuitarist]

Awesome, probably my favourite jazz guitarist. Great work.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you 🙂

[@Trombonology]

Jens, this was worth the wait since you mentioned it. Fantastic analysis of the elements of Bill's genius and virtuosity, with a great example. You can hear such a diversity of genre influences as well as music history in his playing, but it comes out in such a singular, highly identifiable way. I've always loved that thoughtful, unhurried quality in his work, too.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you Elizabeth. Bill is indeed starting in bop and ending in ragtime within a single line, and he gets away with it so beautifully!

[@brads4606]

My favorite guitar player. Like Billie Holiday or Roy Haynes or John Coltrane, his voice is unmistakable.

[@JensLarsen]

He is indeed a great musician!

[@wizardofoz6811]

What a great explanation. Awesome analyses and observations, very didactic and extremely insightful stuff.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you very much! I am glad you found it useful! If you have any suggestions for topics or things you are looking for the feel free to let me know 👍

[@DaveElke]

Great lesson. As a teacher, I must say you focus on the right things and break it down very clearly. Thanks for this! Bill is my fave

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you very much, Dave 🙂

[@dkwvt13]

Aim glad you made the point about his use of open strings and drones. To me that is one of his trademarks especially in the sense of inverted extensions if that makes any sense... 😁. And OMG I was not aware of the band series of albums, incredible! Thank You!

[@JensLarsen]

Ah Wow! You should really check out that series! There is an album of Bill Evans tunes as well Absolutely fantastic!

[@michaelschaefer7962]

Great lesson! To my ear, some of Frisell's chord voicings as you break them down, especially around 4:00-5:00, sound like they're influenced by Jim Hall's work, which is no surprise.

[@saxwhisper6083]

Nice, I actually finally learned this song too. Cool video

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks! Yes, it is really one of my favourites 🙂

[@germanmartinez1994]

Jim Campilongo! Awesome video by the way thank you very much

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks! I am really not familar with him, do you have an album suggestion?

[@germanmartinez1994]

yes sure! i would say either Dream Dictionary, or Orange by him.

[@JensLarsen]

Ok. I will give those a listen! Thanks!

[@bubsadoozy]

It would be interesting to see you tackle Julian Lage -- not so much his recorded works but his live performances. Perhaps with an emphasis on counterpoint and open triads?

[@JensLarsen]

I will try to get to him as well :)

[@leoosiku]

Wonderful channel! Thanks for sharing your talent and insightful lessons. How about some Larry Coryell!

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you! I am really not that familiar with him, so that always makes it a little tricky 🙂

[@stevenbeechey]

Great video Jens :)

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it! 🙂

[@kindnick58]

I love Frisell

[@JensLarsen]

Most people do, but some just won't admit it 😄

[@DS-yg4qs]

And Pat Martino. My favourite.

[@ricardosalcedo2824]

Jim Campilongo and Nels Cline

[@JensLarsen]

Ok. I don't know Jim Campilongo at all. What is a good album?

[@ricardosalcedo2824]

Orange or Dream Dictionary

[@medusinator]

Nels Cline, definitely. Love your videos Jens, keep up the inspiring work!

[@GlennMichaelThompson]

Great lesson, Jens! These albums with Paul Motian and friends are timeless. I also enjoy others led by Motian with more original material. It's all good. When you mentioned that Scofield also used intervals to obtain a different sound (which is a great example) , I thought about how long it takes a guitarist to develop such a style. I remember buying some LP's when i was in my late teens - early 20's by Scofield's trio with Adam Nussbaum and Steve Swallow (one of my all time favorite bass guitarists). I lost those albums decades ago. SO I ordered a CD reissue called Bar Talk reorded in 1980, which arrived yesterday. I only had time to listen to it once...but it's like listening to a different guitar player. It deserves repeated listenings before any absolute conclusions. Bar Talk. ...i am curious if it may be a reference to a certain composer? :-)

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks Glen! That's an interesting point! The early Scofield is a little different from now of course, but I think a lot of it is still very "Scofield" thouhg. I think Bar Talk could also be in reference to the amount of noise the average crowd makes at a jazz club gig? Or maybe that's just in the Netherlands 🙂

[@GlennMichaelThompson]

Jens Larsen Hi Jens... a late response as I don't have a functional computer at the moment. After some more listening to the Bar Talk album I can absolutely recognize Scofield's lines when he's improvising on this older recording. It IS Sco after all! ;-) It's more in the compositions written back then. I could be mistaken, but I find the pieces sound more in a traditional or standard jazz style than some of his more contemporary writing with all the funk, gospel...even motown feels. To perhaps help make my point, the tunes on Bar Talk sound like one could actually play a chord melody arrangement, whereas stuff from Uberjam or Up All Night for example may prove too rhythmic with their more "modern" grooves to play in a "standard" chord melody fashion. Maybe that's a poor example.... I hope you get what I mean though. Bar Talk's title...definitely is about the club scene!! That was my 1st assumption. Hope all is well.... thanks for the response and all you give to the guitar & music community. Best regards, always. :-) ~Glenn

[@mosstet]

Would really love suggested exercises to understand how to come up with or get faster at this method of improvising.

[@JensLarsen]

Which exactly is it you want have in there?

[@mosstet]

@@JensLarsen his chordal style, his phrasing, his open string sound, his note choice, his minimalism. Perhaps even his tone. I've been playing arpeggios and adding just one extension at a time and playing that around the neck, occasionally building a chord out of those tones. That has given me a slight feeling of his openness and minimalism. Would love some more concepts to play with. Thanks for the reply!!

[@JensLarsen]

@@mosstet well, you might like the video going up tomorrow 🙂

[@mosstet]

@@JensLarsen nice.

[@joshuacohen5618]

Fantastic info! I'd love to hear Bill Frisell's feedback on your analysis, or any of the other players you've covered on your channel.

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks Joshua! I don't know if they want to talk about that, I would feel a bit strange if somebody analyzed one of my solos like that.

[@joshuacohen5618]

Maybe so, but I would think some of them might want to share their craft/knowledge... sort of like a master class, but with one person who really knows his stuff (you). You've seen Troy Grady's channel, right?

[@connorzito6200]

I'd love to know your thoughts on Nels Cline

[@JensLarsen]

Nels is great! Would be hard to really make this type of analysis though 🙂

[@sergej100qca4]

Very nice

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you! 🙂

[@codydafoe2951]

is there any bill frisell cd's when he was a sideman the he is playing traditional jazz

[@JensLarsen]

Paul Motian's on Broadway series has that, if yo consider that traditional at least? It is all standards there are 4 or 5 albums

[@codydafoe2951]

@@JensLarsen thanx

[@stexup55]

Would any admirers of Bill Frisell know whether his renditions of Burt Bacharach 's and of the Beach Boys' tunes of the sixties can be found on records? If yes, which records? Many thanks.

[@JensLarsen]

I think you are looking for Guitar in the space age? Killer album btw 🙂

[@stexup55]

@@JensLarsen Thanks a lot.

[@BandAcidAccident]

hello , thank you for your leson！ it makes me get interested in his voicings. do you have the whole transcription of the song? i want to try to play

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it! I don't have the whole thing, sorry 🙂

[@vladfarcam4817]

Bill Frisell is the key

[@JensLarsen]

He might just be :)

[@codydafoe2951]

there is a live album on youtube john zorn george lewis bill frisell called more news for lulu which is jazzy compared to most of john zorns recordings

[@christianandersson3510]

Have you bought the on Broadway albums or is there a streaming site that has them?

[@JensLarsen]

I have bought some of them and there are one or two and a compilation on Spotify 🙂

[@gringochucha]

Bill is amazing -- I've never heard him show off. He playing is just so beautiful, even when it's ugly. I wonder how important the fact that he first learned clarinet is to his music.

[@innocentoctave]

Great stuff. Now for Mary Halvorson ...

[@JensLarsen]

Haha! Thanks Paul! I don't really see how I could make a video on her playing :)

[@GlennMichaelThompson]

+Paul B ~LOL ;-)Better off digging into Derek Bailey, Fred Frith, Elliot Sharp, Eugene Chadbourne, or any of a wealth of experimental/free players. Henry Kaiser, David Torn etc IMHO. ✌😃

[@innocentoctave]

Bill Frisell and Mary Halvorson, 'Moonlight in Vermont' kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6XTfKJpmdyejqM

[@innocentoctave]

I'm aware of all of these people. With the exception of Bailey, I find Halvorson more interesting.

[@RazvanFilipCipca]

Man, poor Bill, having to play that mutant music. With all of his capabilities of blending with virtually any genre and doing so with vey much style, he clearly struggles here when he is put in front so much pretentious bullshit. How did she become so known????? And why on earth did Bill agree to play with her???

[@awesam1167]

What guitar are you using

[@JensLarsen]

That's my trusted old '77 Ibanez AS2630 🙂

[@awesam1167]

What would be a good guitar like that one to get now

[@sharktroubles]

Sam Charboneau. The John Scofield Signature Ibanez model.

[@awesam1167]

sharktroubles I literally just got that guitar haha

[@sharktroubles]

Sam Charboneau. CONGRATULATIONS. I once owned one when they were first issued about a decade ago. It was fantastic.

[@jensclarberg6419]

Wonder if Jonathan Kreisberg was influenced a lot by Bill Frisell.

[@JensLarsen]

Doesn't sound like it to me? How do you come by that? 🙂

[@Larriex97]

Maybe has Julian Lage have been influenced by Bill Frisell? ☺

[@near989]

You lost the plastic thingy of the pickup selector XD

[@JensLarsen]

No, I actually broke it off by accident :)

[@tonelocrian]

You forgot about the endless influence of Allan Holdsworth on your introductory list.

[@JensLarsen]

I don't think I did actually.

[@gasparsereysitar]

I really respect what you are doing because it seems like it is your work, but if you watch interviews of Bill Frisell himself you will get that his way of hearing music can't be deduced by "analysing" what he plays. It is not possible to explain on an intellectual level how he plays "surprising" and "beautiful things" and what is the point to play like him if he already is playing like himself? I wonder about that kind of things.

[@JensLarsen]

I am not really trying to explain why, I am just showing you what it is. That is also why the video is called "How He Plays Surprising and Beautiful Things" You can't explain the why for anyone. Do you think you would enjoy the video more if you read the title correctly? (those are things I wonder about :D )

[@TheColdHarshTruth]

KZbin keeps unsubscribing me from various channels, including this one, how annoying!

[@samkirby3775]

Hi Jens, could you go over some of the chords Bill plays in Naked city? The soft breakdown in the song Bone Orchard. The most beautiful chords i've ever heard. The rest of the song you might not like, it's really heavy.