Re: Bill Frisell a master at work.. some great use of looping

[Mark Hamburg <mark@grubmah.com>]

On Feb 5, 2012, at 11:23 PM, Rick Walker wrote:

On 7/22/64 11:59 AM, Mark Hamburg wrote:

I find myself drawn back to Frisell's work on a routine basis. But I also routinely find myself bored before the end of the album — some more than others. Same reaction to seeing him live. I'm not sure what's up with that.

Weird, but I have the same reaction,  Mark (and I think that
Bill Frissel is a truly great artist)......  and, to tell you the truth,  I have that reaction to most jazz
concerts in general......especially the ones with a heavy 'shred' mentality about them.

Theory...

Group statement of theme, individual solos, group statement of theme is a great opportunity to hear virtuosic playing but it can be short on memorable material. So, the next time around, one feels like "haven't I been here before"? Each moment is great, but one "gets it" before the performance is done.

Contrast this with pop music which I'm probably less drawn to go hear but which puts a lot of emphasis on having good hooks.

At the same time, the work is involved enough that one can't just disappear into it the way one can with something like Music for Eighteen Musicians, a piece I love but which gets plenty of "wow. isn't this repetitive?" looks from many others.

I guess this is where shuffle play comes in. A little bit of Frisell is wonderful and it can be sprinkled in liberally, but it also helps to break it up.

Mark