Orchestras - Bill Frisell (2LP Vinyl)

Orchestras by Bill Frisell.

Bill Frisell's "Orchestras" is a double album that captures the guitarist in two very different large ensemble settings, each drawn from live performances and studio sessions that stretch across continents. It is a record built on collaboration and scale, pairing Frisell's unmistakable tone with symphonic textures on one disc and a more intimate ensemble on the other, all released under UMG Recordings in 2024 and pressed in Germany.

The first disc was recorded on September 23 and 24, 2022, at two Belgian venues: De Bijloke in Ghent and Flagey in Brussels. It arrives as a commission from Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, Flagey, and the Brussels Philharmonic, presented within their "Jazz Meets Symphonic" series. That framing tells you everything about the ambition here, as Frisell's compositions and choices are set against the sweep of a full orchestral canvas, captured live with recording and pre-mixing handled by High Score Recording.

Across these sides you get the range of Frisell as both writer and interpreter. His own pieces dominate, with titles like "Throughout," "Electricity," "Rag," "Lookout For Hope," "Levees," "Strange Meeting," and "Monica Jane" drawn from Friz-Tone Music, reflecting decades of his distinctive compositional voice. Alongside them sit interpretations that reveal his roots and reach, including Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life" and two readings of "Doom," the latter published through Retrac Productions.

The second disc shifts the setting entirely, recorded from December 30, 2021, through January 1, 2022, at Teatro Mancinelli in Orvieto, Italy, with additional recording at 25th St. Recording in Oakland, California. The album's two halves were then brought together in Oakland, mixed at 25th St. Recording before mastering at Sterling Sound in Edgewater, New Jersey, with the vinyl mastered at Sterling Sound in Nashville. That transatlantic path, from Italian and Belgian stages to California studios and back out to German pressing plants, mirrors the record's spirit of movement and dialogue.

There are moments here that stretch beyond the jazz idiom into something closer to song and hymn. "Beautiful Dreamer" and "We Shall Overcome" appear as public domain pieces, folded into Frisell's world with the same care he brings to his originals, while "Sweet Rain" and "Richter 858, No. 7" round out the emotional palette. It is a program that moves easily between the tender and the expansive.

For collectors of Frisell and admirers of the meeting point between jazz and orchestral music, "Orchestras" is a rewarding addition to the shelf. It documents a specific and adventurous chapter in his career, one where the guitar sits at the center of ensembles large and small, and it belongs among the standout large scale statements in his catalog.

Pressing Details:
Disc One
Recorded September 23 and 24, 2022 at De Bijloke, Ghent, Belgium and Flagey, Brussels, Belgium
Live recording engineer and pre-mixing: High Score Recording
Commission by Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, Flagey and Brussels Philharmonic, in the series "Jazz Meets Symphonic"

Disc Two
Recorded December 30, 2021 - January 1, 2022 at Teatro Mancinelli, Orvieto, Italy
Additional recording at 25th St. Recording, Oakland, California

Mixed at 25th St. Recording, Oakland, California
Mastered at Sterling Sound, Edgewater, NJ
Vinyl mastered at Sterling Sound, Nashville, TN

Track A1: Published by Michael C. Gibbs (PRS/MCPS)
Track A2: Published by Billy Strayhorn Songs Inc. and Reservoir Media Music (ASCAP)
Tracks A3, D1: Published by Retrac Productions Inc. (BMI)
Tracks A4 to B1, B3, C1 to C3, D2, D3: Published by Friz-Tone Music (BMI)
Track B2: Published by On Stage Music (BMI)
Tracks B4, D4: Public Domain

℗ © 2024 UMG Recordings, Inc.

Made in Germany

Track Listing:
A1. Nocturne Vulgaire
A2. Lush Life
A3. Doom
A4. Rag
A5. Throughout
B1. Electricity
B2. Sweet Rain
B3. Richter 858, No. 7
B4. Beautiful Dreamer
C1. Lookout For Hope
C2. Levees
C3. Strange Meeting
D1. Doom
D2. Electricity
D3. Monica Jane
D4. We Shall Overcome

Artist: Bill Frisell

Format: 2LP

Genre: Jazz

Label: Blue Note

Catalog Number: 00602458837407

Release Year: 2024

Country: United States

Condition: Sealed (New)