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Legendary jazz guitarist Bill Frisell has created a truly remarkable album with Unspeakable. By teaming up once again with long time friend and producer Hal Willner we find Frisell at times dangling off the edge with a nasty, distorted guitar tone and an inverted use of samples. When not blazing through fierce landscapes Frisell is able to land firmly on his feet with the soothing sounds of Americana we have seen dominate his work in the past few years. By using arcane clips of vinyl as a starting point and implementing generous, yet tasteful turntable elements, Willner has clearly culled some of the more adventurous and experimental work to date from Frisell.
Don't be mistaken, this isn't Frisell taking a crack at hip-hop or anything even close. This is a soulful, groove-heavy, guitar-driven album that draws a light comparison to the Miles Davis electric era. Enlisting some of his most trusted musical mercenaries including; Tony Scherr (bass), Kenny Wollesen (drums), Don Alias (percussion) and the 858 Strings of Jenny Scheinman, Eyvind Kang and Hank Roberts as well as a horn section of Steven Bernstein, Curtis Fowlkes and Briggan Krauss, Frisell and company are clearly able to stretch out, yet they always allow the sum to be greater than the part.
While the most impressive tracks feature Frisell with heavy distortion and choice samples over a deep rhythmic undercurrent ("Stringbean" and "Old Sugar Bear") there are also plenty of more melodic, traditional sounds for those not quite ready to dive off the edge. When not twisting the guitar around itself Frisell can be found laying down an airy, ethereal guitar line along side floating strings ("Sundust"), or perhaps embracing the worldly sounds found under Alias' percussive flow on "1968" or maybe even going way way out with the spacey, over eight minute "Goodbye Goodbye Goodbye" closer.
By pushing away from the safer confines of much of his latest work and bringing back the heavy guitar tones and obtuse samples we find Frisell at his best. Unspeakable should appeal to a wide range of listeners, perhaps leaving purists with something to wish for, but clearly, Unspeakable is worth talking about.
The Kayceman
JamBase | San Francisco
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