egroj world: Bill Frisell • Good Dog, Happy Man

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Bill Frisell • Good Dog, Happy Man

"Bill Frisell makes such consistently great records that it would be easy to take the guitarist for granted. That would be sad, since no one refracts age-old Americana through a cutting-edge prism with the warm-hearted, fleet-minded individuality of Frisell. With "Good Dog, Happy Man," he has crafted one of his earthiest essays yet - a sort of funky follow-up to his sublime "Nashville" album from 1997. Backed by an ultra-hip band - pedal-steel artisan Greg Leisz, bassist Viktor Krauss, organ grinder Wayne Horvitz, and drum legend Jim Keltner - Frisell has forged originals whose folky melodies and big-sky grooves make them seem like old friends in snazzy new clothes. Tellingly, the outfit channels the traditional "Shenandoah" with Ry Cooder in tow, and its sepia-toned melancholy pairs perfectly with Frisell's dusty ballads, like the gem "Cadillac 1959."
- Billboard

"As a composer, Frisell seems to have located his center. Once as eclectic and mercurial as downtown New York contemporaries like John Zorn, he now devotes himself to building seamless and personal collages of 20th-century Americana. The only cover on Good Dog is a shimmering meditation on "Shenandoah," performed here as a duet with an exceptionally introspective Ry Cooder, but all these tracks are derived from folk and folk-jazz and blues sources. And all of them glow."
- LA Weekly

"Frisell and company focus on the subtleties inherent in groove music, like the way textural variation can push a slow moving melodic line to another level without having to wait for the chords to change."
- Baltimore Sun

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"Bill Frisell hace discos tan consistentemente geniales que sería fácil dar por sentado al guitarrista . Eso sería triste, ya que nadie refracta la antigua Americana a través de un prisma de vanguardia con la individualidad cálida y veloz de Frisell. Con "Good Dog, Happy Man", ha elaborado uno de sus ensayos más terrenales hasta el momento, una especie de seguimiento funky de su sublime álbum "Nashville" de 1997. Respaldado por una banda ultra moderna: el artesano Greg Leisz, el bajista Viktor Krauss, el organillero Wayne Horvitz y la leyenda de la batería Jim Keltner, Frisell ha forjado originales cuyas melodías folk y ritmos de cielo grande los hacen parecer viejos amigos con ropa nueva y elegante. De manera reveladora, el atuendo canaliza el tradicional "Shenandoah" con Ry Cooder a cuestas, y su melancolía en tonos sepia combina perfectamente con las baladas polvorientas de Frisell, como la joya "Cadillac 1959."
- Cartelera

"Como compositor, Frisell parece haber localizado su centro . Alguna vez fue tan ecléctico y volátil como contemporáneos del centro de Nueva York como John Zorn, ahora se dedica a construir collages perfectos y personales de la cultura americana del siglo XX. La única versión de Good Dog es una meditación brillante sobre "Shenandoah", interpretada aquí a dúo con un Ry Cooder excepcionalmente introspectivo, pero todas estas pistas se derivan de fuentes de folk y folk-jazz y blues. Y todos ellos brillan."
- LA Weekly

"Frisell y compañía se enfocan en las sutilezas inherentes a la música groove, como la forma en que la variación de texturas puede llevar una línea melódica de movimiento lento a otro nivel sin tener que esperar a que cambien los acordes."
- Baltimore Sun

www.billfrisell.com ...
www.billfrisell.com/good-dog-happy-man ...

Tracks:
1 - Rain, Rain - 2:45
2 - Roscoe - 3:43
3 - Big Shoe - 3:49
4 - My Buffalo Girl - 8:50
5 - Shenandoah (For Johnny Smith) - 6:09
6 - Cadillac 1959 - 6:16
7 - The Pioneers - 5:16
8 - Cold, Cold Ground - 9:01
9 - That Was Then - 5:29
10 - Monroe - 4:19
11 - Good Dog, Happy Man - 2:33
12 - Poem For Eva - 3:41

Credits:
    Bass – Viktor Krauss (tracks: 1 to 4, 6 to 12)
    Composed By [Compositions By] – Bill Frisell (tracks: 1 to 4, 6 to 12)
    Coordinator [Production Assistance] – Louisa Spier, Noel Grey
    Design – Barbara De Wilde
    Drums, Percussion – Jim Keltner (tracks: 1 to 4, 6 to 12)
    Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Loops, Musical Box [Music Boxes] – Bill Frisell (tracks: 1 to 4, 6 to 12)
    Engineer [Assistant Engineer At Different Fur Recording] – Adam Muñoz
    Engineer [Assistant Engineer At O'Henry Sound Studios] – Jeff Shannon
    Engineer [Recording And Mixing Engineer] – Judy Clapp
    Executive-Producer [Nonesuch Production] – Karina Beznicki
    Management [Representation] – Songline/Tone Field Productions
    Mastered By – Greg Calbi
    Organ, Piano, Sampler [Samples] – Wayne Horvitz (tracks: 1 to 4, 6 to 12)
    Pedal Steel Guitar, Dobro, Lap Steel Guitar, Steel Guitar [Weissenborn], Steel Guitar [National], Mandolin – Greg Leisz (tracks: 1 to 4, 6 to 12)
    Photography By [Photographs] – Michael Wilson (8)
    Producer – Lee Townsend

Label:    Nonesuch – 7559-79536-2
Country:    Europe
Released:    1999
Genre:    Jazz, Blues
Style:    Country Blues, Modern Electric Blues
https://www.discogs.com/release/1375118-Bill-Frisell-Good-Dog-Happy-Man