Valentine - Bill Frisell (2LP Vinyl)

Valentine by Bill Frisell.

Bill Frisell's Valentine arrives on Blue Note Records as a warm, wide-ranging document of one of the guitar's most distinctive voices. Spread across four sides and housed in a handsome gatefold sleeve, this 2020 release gathers original compositions, standards, and traditional material into a single, unhurried statement. It is a record that rewards patience, unfolding its ideas the way Frisell has always favored, with space, texture, and a quiet sense of discovery.

The program opens with "Baba Drame," published by Label Bleu, before settling into a run of Frisell originals that form the backbone of the album. "Hour Glass," the title track "Valentine," and "Levees" showcase his gift for melody as space, while side B continues with "Winter Always Turns To Spring" and "Keep Your Eyes Open." These pieces, published through Frizz-Tone Music, carry the unmistakable Frisell signature: tunes that feel both freshly composed and somehow long remembered.

Interpretation has always been central to Frisell's art, and Valentine leans into that instinct with care. Billy Strayhorn's "A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing" appears on side B, published by Tempo Music, a nod to the great American songbook tradition that runs beneath so much of Frisell's playing. Side D reaches toward Burt Bacharach and Hal David with "What The World Needs Now Is Love," a choice that feels tender rather than nostalgic, its message resonating clearly in the hands of a trio unafraid of directness.

The traditional and public domain material gives the album its emotional anchor. "Wagon Wheels" on side C and the closing "We Shall Overcome" on side D root the record in something older and communal, the kind of shared songbook that Frisell has long treated as sacred ground. Placed alongside originals like "Electricity," "Aunt Mary," and "Where Do We Go?," these pieces expand the album's reach, connecting personal invention to a broader American vernacular.

The sound of the pressing matters here, and Valentine was recorded and mixed at Flora Recording & Playback in Portland, Oregon, then mastered at Sterling Sound in Edgewater, New Jersey. That pairing lends the music a natural, roomy presence, letting every string and cymbal breathe across the grooves. Released under Blue Note Records with a 2020 UMG copyright, it is a session built for careful listening on a good system.

For collectors and listeners drawn to Frisell's singular blend of jazz, folk, and Americana, Valentine stands as an essential entry in his catalog. It is a generous, deeply felt record, one that treats melody as an act of affection and invites you to return to it again and again.

Pressing Details:
Gatefold sleeve.

Track A1: Published by Label Bleu (SACEM)
Tracks A2, A3, A4, B1, B2, C1, C3, D2: Published by Frizz-Tone Music (BMI)
Track B3: Published by Tempo Music (ASCAP)
Tracks C2, D3: Public Domain
Track D1: Published by Hidden Valley Music (ASCAP), Casa David (ASCAP)

All songs recorded and mixed by (...) and assisted by (...) at Flora Recording & Playback, Portland, OR.
Mastered by (...) at Sterling Sound, Edgewater, NJ.

Blue Note Records; ℗© 2020 UMG Recordings, Inc.

Track Listing:
A1. Baba Drame
A2. Hour Glass
A3. Valentine
A4. Levees
B1. Winter Always Turns To Spring
B2. Keep Your Eyes Open
B3. A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing
C1. Electricity
C2. Wagon Wheels
C3. Aunt Mary
D1. What The World Needs Now Is Love
D2. Where Do We Go?
D3. We Shall Overcome

Artist: Bill Frisell

Format: 2LP

Genre: Jazz

Label: Blue Note

Catalog Number: 60250899210

Release Year: 2020

Country: United States

Condition: Sealed (New)