William Richard Frisell, born on March 18, 1951, is an American jazz guitarist. He became well-known in the 1980s through ECM Records, where he worked as both a musician who played on recordings and a leader of his own projects. He later performed in many different musical settings, including the Downtown Scene in New York City, where he collaborated regularly with composer and saxophonist John Zorn. Frisell was also a member of drummer Paul Motian’s groups from the early 1980s until Motian passed away in 2011. Since the late 1990s, Frisell’s work as a bandleader has included music styles such as folk, country, rock 'n' roll, and Americana. He has received six Grammy nominations and one Grammy Award.
Biography
Bill Frisell was born in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, but spent most of his childhood in Denver, Colorado. As a young person, he studied clarinet with Richard Joiner of the Denver Symphony Orchestra. However, by his teenage years, he became more interested in playing the guitar. He graduated from Denver East High School and attended the University of Northern Colorado to study music. At the university, he took a class taught by guitarist Johnny Smith. Later, Frisell said the class became private lessons with Smith because the focus on music theory, such as scales and inversions, was too challenging for most students.
Frisell’s first guitar teacher in the Denver–Aurora area was Dale Bruning. Together, they released the 2000 duo album Reunion. After graduating from the University of Northern Colorado, Frisell attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied with Jon Damian and Jim Hall.
Frisell’s first major opportunity came when guitarist Pat Metheny could not attend a recording session and recommended Frisell to Paul Motian, who was recording Psalm (1982) for ECM Records. Frisell became ECM’s in-house guitar player during the 1980s and worked on several albums, including Jan Garbarek’s Paths, Prints (1982). His first album released under his own name was In Line (1983), which included solo guitar performances and duets with bassist Arild Andersen.
In the 1980s, Frisell moved to Hoboken, New Jersey, and became active in the New York jazz scene. He partnered with John Zorn, including as a member of the avant-garde jazz band Naked City, and performed or recorded with many other musicians. He also played in Paul Motian’s trio with saxophonist Joe Lovano.
In the mid-1980s, Frisell formed a working group with Kermit Driscoll on bass, Joey Baron on drums, and Hank Roberts on cello. Later, the group became a trio after Roberts left. For studio projects, other musicians often joined the group.
In 1988, Frisell moved to Seattle, Washington. In the early 1990s, he released two highly praised albums: Have a Little Faith (1991), which explored a wide range of American music styles, and This Land (1992), which included original compositions. During this time, he performed with many musicians, including Douglas September on the album 10 Bulls. He also played soundtracks for silent films by Buster Keaton and contributed to Ryuichi Sakamoto’s album Heartbeat.
In the mid-1990s, Frisell disbanded his trio. He continued to incorporate elements of bluegrass and country music into his work. His friendship with Gary Larson led him to provide music for the TV version of The Far Side, which was released on the album Quartet. In 1997, Frisell released Nashville on Nonesuch Records, featuring Jerry Douglas, Viktor Krauss, and members of Alison Krauss’s band, Union Station. In 2000, he moved to Bainbridge Island, Washington, near Seattle.
Several of Frisell’s songs, including his recording of “Over the Rainbow” and “Coffaro’s Theme” (originally composed for the 1995 Italian film La scuola), appeared in the film Finding Forrester (2000).
In 1999, Frisell was commissioned by the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to compose Blues Dream, which he premiered on November 15, 1999. He later recorded it for a 2001 release on Nonesuch. In the same year, he released The Sweetest Punch, which featured a seven-piece jazz ensemble reworking songs from Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach’s Painted from Memory.
Between 2003 and 2005, Frisell served as musical director for Century of Song, a series of concerts at the German Ruhrtriennale arts festival. He invited artists such as Rickie Lee Jones, Elvis Costello, Petra Haden, and others to perform their favorite songs in new arrangements.
In 2003, Frisell’s album The Intercontinentals was nominated for a Grammy Award. He won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album for Unspeakable. His 2008 album History, Mystery was nominated for a 2009 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. Frisell also judged the sixth annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.
In 2008, Frisell performed as a guest on Earth’s album The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull. The following year, he recorded a duet version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” with singer-songwriter Sam Shrieve, which appeared on Shrieve’s debut album, Bittersweet Lullabies.
In 2010, Frisell began working with the Savoy Jazz label and released Beautiful Dreamers in August 2010, followed by Sign of Life in April 2011. On January 25, 2011, Frisell and Vinicius Cantuária released Lágrimas Mexicanas on the E1 label.
In June 2011, Frisell, Lee Townsend, and Vinicius Cantuária participated in TEDx GoldenGateED’s program “Teaching Compassion” in Oakland, California. Frisell and Cantuária performed separately, while Townsend assisted with event production. In September 2011, Frisell released All We Are Saying, a collection of his interpretations of John Lennon’s music. His quintet includes violinist Jenny Scheinman, pedal steel and acoustic guitarist Greg Leisz, bassist Tony Scherr, and drummer Kenny Wollesen.
In 2017, Frisell received an honorary doctorate of music from Berklee College of Music. He has lived in Brooklyn since 2017.
In 2021, a video was recorded at the Village Vanguard in New York and released by Blue Note Records on YouTube.
A biography titled Bill Frisell, Beautiful Dreamer: The Guitarist Who Changed the Sound of American Music, written by Philip Watson, was published by Faber & Faber on May 24, 2022.