The definitive biography of guitar icon and Grammy Award-winning
artist, Bill Frisell.
FEATURING EXCLUSIVE LISTENING SESSIONS WITH: Paul Simon; Justin Vernon
of Bon Iver; Gus Van Sant; Rhiannon Giddens; The Bad Plus; Gavin Bryars;
Van Dyke Parks; Sam Amidon; Hal Willner; Jim Woodring; Martin Hayes &
Dennis Cahill.
'A beautiful and long overdue portrait of one of America's true living
cultural treasures.'
JOHN ZORN
'The perfect companion-piece to the music of its subject.'
MOJO
'Outlines the subject's life in a series of scrupulous strokes and
intimate interviews that are rare in such undertakings . . . a cool,
casual victory.'
IRISH TIMES
Over a period of forty-five years, Bill Frisell has established himself
as one of the most innovative and influential musicians at work today.
Growing up playing clarinet in orchestras and marching bands, Frisell
has progressed through a remarkable range of musical personas - from
devotee of jazz master Jim Hall to 'house guitarist' of estimable German
label ECM, from edgy New York downtown experimentalist to plaintive
country and bluegrass picker. He has been a pioneering bandleader and
collaborator, a prolific composer and arranger and a celebrated Grammy
Award winner.
A quietly revolutionary guitar hero who has synthesised many disparate
musical elements into one compellingly singular sound, Frisell connects
to a diverse range of artists and admirers, including Paul Simon, Elvis
Costello, Lucinda Williams, Gus Van Sant, Marianne Faithfull and Justin
Vernon, many of whom feature in this book.
Through unprecedented access to the guitarist and interviews with his
close family, friends and associates, Philip Watson tells Frisell's
story for the first time.
'Stuffed with musical encounters, so many that every couple of pages
there's an unheard Frisell recording for the reader to chase down.'
NEW YORKER
'Superb . . . the book races along like Sonny Rollins in full sail. Like
subject, like writer: this is super-articulate, adventurous prose.'
PERSPECTIVE
'[Watson's] writing balances unbridled passion and dispassionate
research nearly as deftly as Mr. Frisell's playing does sound and
silence . . . compelling.'
WALL STREET JOURNAL
