"It's hard to find a more fruitful meditation on American music than in the compositions of guitarist Bill Frisell."-New York Times

"Bill Frisell plays the guitar like Miles Davis played the trumpet: in the hands of such radical thinkers, their instruments simply become different animals." -New Yorker

"…Bill's music [is] warm, fluid, generous, humanistic, transformational and redemptive - a dream of a musical democracy in which all music, no matter where it comes from, is rendered gorgeously and benignly and heartbreakingly and hauntingly dreamlike." -GQ

"…Bill Frisell has quietly been the most brilliant and unique voice to come along in jazz guitar since Wes Montgomery. In light of this, it may be easy to overlook the fact that he may also be one of the most promising composers of American music on the current scene." -Stereophile

On Tuesday, September 1, 2009, Songline/Tone Field Productions will simultaneously release three Buster Keaton films on DVD including Go West, One Week and High Sign, which feature original music by GRAMMY Award-winning guitarist Bill Frisell, and a new DVD, Solos: The Jazz Sessions (Original Spin Media), capturing an unprecedented on-location solo recording session filmed at the Berkeley Church in Toronto, Canada by director Daniel Berman. Interviews and photos are available upon request.

In the early '90s, Bill Frisell made pivotal strides in employing improvised music as soundtracks for feature films. Commissioned by St. Ann's in Brooklyn, NY (1992-1993), Frisell and his trio, including drummer Joey Baron and bassist Kermit Driscoll, performed live scores to six Buster Keaton films, helping forge a new movement of adventurous jazz musicians composing music for film. In 1995, Nonesuch Records released Frisell's recordings to Go West, One Week and High Sign. This fall the three Keaton classics will be released, highlighting Frisell's compositional brilliance in the featured music. Following an NYC performance accompanying the films, the New York Times noted, "Mr. Frisell's scores perfectly balance the need to be abstract and the need to be literal ... [He has] recurring motifs that suggest the new American possibility of the time, motifs redolent of the sort of optimism heard in some country music, blues and jazz."

Parallel themes and sentiments run through Frisell's catalogue of music and Keaton's iconic films of the 1920s. An array of emotions exists in their respective works with a sense of timelessness and poignancy. Longtime Frisell producer Lee Townsend comments, "When St. Ann's approached us about Bill participating in their new music for film program, I felt Buster Keaton's films were a good fit not only because of the sense of humor in Bill's music, but also the deeper sense of pathos that underscores how Keaton champions the underdog in his films. And that resonates with the emotional subtext intrinsic in much of Bill's music." Frisell's signature guitar work contributes a contemporary take on these select silent films. His ambitious sonic landscapes push the boundaries as he contributes to an enhanced perception of Keaton's work. A masterful representation of the silent film era, the feature film (Go West) and two shorts (One Week, and High Sign) marked the debut of Frisell's entry into cinematic musical storytelling.

Frisell notes, "Keaton's films were the very first time I ever tried to do anything for film. There was something special about never doing this before. It came out in an unconventional way, and it really changed how I felt about his work. Yes there is the comedy, but there is something much deeper, a darker side. We got into the psychology of what Keaton might have been  thinking while acting out those scenes, and put that in our writing. It was quite an intriguing way to get my feet wet in the film world." Although Frisell wrote tightly structured themes, within his melodies he saw plenty of room for improvisation, especially for drummer Joey Baron. They had starting and ending markers, but in between, there was much freedom to act in the moment. Frisell's epic musical canvases replaced solo piano soundtracks in One Week and High Sign, and the orchestral and swing jazz soundtrack for Go West.

Frisell's original music has been featured in many distinguished films including Wim Wender's Million Dollar Hotel (starring Mel Gibson), the T-Bone Burnett produced soundtrack for Walk The Line, two Gus Van Sant films (Finding Forester and the remake of Psycho), All Hat (directed by Leonard Farlinger), Tongzhi In Love (directed by Ruby Yang), American Hollow (HBO documentary special by Rory Kennedy), La Scuola (a film by Italian filmmaker Daniel Luchetti), Gary Larson's animated television project Tales From The Far Side, and two public radio series - The DNA Files and Stories from the Heart of the Land.

Frisell's imaginative guitar work has graced more than 200 recordings, including 25 albums under his own name. For the first time captured in High Definition and 5.1 stereo surround sound, Solos: The Jazz Sessions presents an up-close portrayal of the genius behind Frisell, filmed by Daniel Berman at the mesmerizing Berkeley Church in Toronto, Canada. A rare solo session with Frisell performing original tunes as well as classics by Bob Dylan, Hank Willams, George and Ira Gershwin, and traditional Americana songs, Solos features an intimate look into his electric guitar and looping wizardry, and includes an exclusive interview with Frisell.

Solos marks the debut release by Original Spin Media (www.solosjazz.com) in their three-year series broadcasted by Bravo Canada. Daniel Berman conceived the idea of jazz musicians performing solo for a five-camera High Definition film taping as a way to challenge how they typically approach their instrument. Berman says, "I wanted to put together a series where today's top jazz artists would be placed outside of their natural element. One of the hardest things for a player is to perform solo. A lot of these guys do not typically do it. It's kind of the opposite approach of what they are used to, and it's far from just another night on tour. The only audience is the home viewer. Over the years, I always listened to Bill Frisell's beautiful tapestry of magic. It's an honor to work with him, and I think people will enjoy what we caught on tape." Other artists highlighted in the Solos: The Jazz Sessions series include Joe Lovano, Brad Mehldau, James Blood Ulmer, John Abercrombie, Andrew Hill, and many others.

On the taping of Solos Frisell comments, "It’s a weird thing playing solo. I live for the interaction with other musicians because when you put something out there, you get something in return, and you are able to build momentum. When you perform solo, it just goes out into space, and you have to come up with ideas right away to follow it up. I learned to allow silence when playing by myself. There's really something special about one person sitting and playing guitar. I'm really happy with how this project turned out. The filmmaker created such an amazing atmosphere to play music in."

With a career spanning more than 25 years, Frisell is firmly established as a pioneer in American music. His breadth of performing styles and recordings - both his own solo projects and collaborations with such artists as Paul Simon, Jim Hall, Elvis Costello, Paul Motian and Norah Jones, to name just a few - is a testament to his virtuosity and musical versatility as a band leader and composer. Whether scoring music for film, recording a new full-length album, or performing solo in a beautiful church in Canada, there is only one guitarist who can voice such a distinctive and familiar sound: Bill Frisell. 

Media Contact: Jesse P. Cutler, JP Cutler Media, 415.655.3431, publicity@jpcutlermedia.com

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