Bill Frisell has long been one of the most unique guitarists around. Able to switch on a moment's notice from sounding like a Nashville studio player to heavy metal, several styles of jazz, and just pure noise,
Frisell can get a remarkable variety of sounds and tones out of his instrument. This set features
Frisell in a quintet with
Don Byron (on clarinet and bass clarinet),
Guy Klucevsek on accordion, bassist
Kermit Driscoll, and drummer
Joey Baron. To call the repertoire wide-ranging would be an understatement. In addition to eight melodies from
Aaron Copland's Billy the Kid,
Frisell and company explore (and often reinvent) pieces written by
Charles Ives,
Bob Dylan,
Muddy Waters,
Madonna,
Sonny Rollins,
Stephen Foster, and
John Phillip Sousa. This is one of the most inventive recordings of the 1990s and should delight most listeners from any genre. ~ Scott Yanow