Bill Frisell
Bill Frisell is an American jazz guitarist whose spacious, effects-washed tone and wide-open sense of melody have made him one of the most distinctive guitar voices of his generation. From the late 1990s onward his work as a bandleader leaned increasingly into folk, country, and Americana, reframing the roots-music songbook through an improviser’s ear.
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- Born March 18, 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised in the Denver, Colorado area, where he studied clarinet before turning to guitar.
- Attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, studying with guitarists Jon Damian and Jim Hall.
- Got his major break in 1982 when Pat Metheny, unable to make a session, recommended him to drummer Paul Motian for the ECM album Psalm; he became ECM’s in-house guitarist through the 1980s.
- Released Have a Little Faith (1992, Nonesuch), a wide-ranging survey of American music spanning Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, Bob Dylan, and John Hiatt.
- His album Nashville (1997, Nonesuch), cut with bluegrass and country session players, marked a decisive turn toward roots music and Americana.
- Won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album for Unspeakable (2004, Nonesuch).
- Inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame.
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Nashville1997
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Adam SteffeyPlayed on recording with Bill Frisell
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Bill FrisellPlayed on recording with Bill Frisell
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Jerry DouglasPlayed on recording with Bill Frisell
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Ron BlockPlayed on recording with Bill Frisell
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Viktor KraussPlayed on recording with Bill Frisell