Bill Frisell Trio

On a night with a wintery bite, the Bill Frisell Trio brought the perfect cozy warmth to Blues Alley. Cousin David kindly arrived first and landed a third row table; we had an hour to catch up. The house quickly filled with the sold out crowd, anticipating an artist who could easily fill an auditorium 5x this size.

The trio began with the Monk tune “Misterioso,” which set the mood for the evening playful, reflective, intimate yet taking musical risks. The melody alternates high and low eighth notes an octave apart. Guitarist Frisell and bassist Thomas Morgan deconstructed the tune so that each took alternating notes. This set the stage for the lyrical intertwining of bass and guitar through much of the show. When drummer Rudy Royston took a first solo, he let the club know he was here: the intensity jumped upwards, and while his solo was melodic, he was not afraid to let everyone know he was here to play the drums.

Both Frisell and Thomas Morgan each generate wonderful tone on their respective instruments, rounded, rich with timbre, and full. In a trio format, there was plenty of room for each to play melodies. And they often played in an improvised counterpoint. Best of all, the whole trio was evidently having so much fun. They played first for themselves. Indeed, their amplifiers were pointed inwards, not out at the audience. I always love when musicians are having a great time.

Towards the end of the set, they covered the immediately recognizable Burt Bacharach / Hal David tune “What the World Needs Now is Love:”

Lord, we don’t need another mountain
There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb
There are oceans and rivers enough to cross
Enough to last until the end of time
What the world needs now is love, sweet love

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