Guitarist Bill Frisell has always projected an orchestral scope through his remarkable sense of harmony, a unique gift for melodies that remain with you long after a performance, and a keen feel for how dynamic range can be used to convey emotion. But on his new double album Orchestras he makes those symphonic evocations a reality.
Produced by Lee Townsend, Orchestras documents two inspired concert hall engagements arranged by Michael Gibbs for Frisell’s trio with bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Rudy Royston: LP1 featuring the Brussels Philharmonic, conducted by Alexander Hanson; and LP2 with the Umbria Jazz Orchestra, under the musical direction of Manuele Morbidini. Gibbs’ sweeping, singular orchestrations, with shades of Gil Evans and landmark film scores, move nimbly within and around the trio’s telepathic rapport, and Frisell’s shimmering trademark tone melds gorgeously with strings and brass.
The roots of this agility can be found in Frisell’s deep relationship with Gibbs, among the most ingenious composer-arrangers in jazz history, whose visionary writing opened new pathways for modern jazz and for jazz’s ability to pull from adventurous rock and pop. Or, as Frisell describes his now 86-year-old lodestar: “a hero, teacher, mentor, friend, imaginator, instigator, door opener, uplifter, positive thinker, enthusiastic harmonizer.”
