Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Beautiful Dreamers is Bill Frisell's debut for Savoy Jazz. He left longstanding label Nonesuch in 2009, claiming he needed to release more than one record per year in order to to document his various bands, film score commitments, and commissions. This set features the guitarist in the company of violist Eyvind Kang and drummer Rudy Royston on a program of ten originals and six covers. While this trio is well known for using various effects in concert to expand its sonic palette, and jamming on various tunes for long periods of time, here the musicians are virtually a mirror image of that incarnation, playing with restraint, brevity, and melodic sensitivity. Frisell's originals range between speculative, atmospherically mysterious numbers such as "Love Sick" and more rhythmically pronounced exercises that engage in contrapuntal play between the guitarist and Kang, as on "Winslow Homer," which also flirts with bluegrass while Royston lays down breaks inside hip-hop drums. "Better Than a Machine" is dedicated to the late Vic Chesnutt, and employs two of his themes in a perky, rockist tribute with some nice dissonance from Kang and power chords from Frisell. But they also underscore the covers, which are typical of Frisell; they reflect his wide interest in American music and his sense of humor. There's a parlor-room reading of Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer," an elegant version of "Goin' Out of My Head" that features killer pizzicato playing from Kang (and refers more to the original hit version by Little Anthony & the Imperials than the version by Sergio Mendes), the forlorn, wary blues of Blind Willie Johnson's "It's Nobody's Fault But Mine" stretched to the breaking point, and a swinging read of "Benny's Bugle." The blues also appears on "Worried Woman," with a direct quote from John Lennon's "I Found Out" and great rhythmic and harmonic interplay between all members of the trio. There's a sparkling cover of A.P. Carter's "Keep on the Sunny Side" that underscores Frisell's well-documented love of Americana and country music. At an hour in length, this can seem like an overly long exercise at times -- "Tea for Two" feels like an eternity and some of Frisell's originals are a tad amorphous, like cues left off film scores -- but these are minor complaints. Ultimately, Beautiful Dreamers is a wonderfully balanced trio exercise.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From £10.83/month
Bill Frisell, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2010 SLG LLC
Bill Frisell, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2010 SLG LLC
Stephen Foster, ComposerLyricist - Bill Frisell, MainArtist
℗ 2010 SLG LLC
Bill Frisell, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2010 SLG LLC
Blind Willie Johnson, ComposerLyricist - Bill Frisell, MainArtist
℗ 2010 SLG LLC
Bill Frisell, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2010 SLG LLC
Benny Goodman, ComposerLyricist - Bill Frisell, MainArtist
℗ 2010 SLG LLC
Vincent Youmans, ComposerLyricist - Bill Frisell, MainArtist
℗ 2010 SLG LLC
Bill Frisell, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2010 SLG LLC
Bill Frisell, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2010 SLG LLC
Bobby Weinstein, ComposerLyricist - Teddy Randazzo, ComposerLyricist - Bill Frisell, MainArtist
℗ 2010 SLG LLC
Bill Frisell, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2010 SLG LLC
Bill Frisell, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2010 SLG LLC
Bill Frisell, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2010 SLG LLC
Bill Frisell, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2010 SLG LLC
Bill Frisell, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2010 SLG LLC
Album review
Beautiful Dreamers is Bill Frisell's debut for Savoy Jazz. He left longstanding label Nonesuch in 2009, claiming he needed to release more than one record per year in order to to document his various bands, film score commitments, and commissions. This set features the guitarist in the company of violist Eyvind Kang and drummer Rudy Royston on a program of ten originals and six covers. While this trio is well known for using various effects in concert to expand its sonic palette, and jamming on various tunes for long periods of time, here the musicians are virtually a mirror image of that incarnation, playing with restraint, brevity, and melodic sensitivity. Frisell's originals range between speculative, atmospherically mysterious numbers such as "Love Sick" and more rhythmically pronounced exercises that engage in contrapuntal play between the guitarist and Kang, as on "Winslow Homer," which also flirts with bluegrass while Royston lays down breaks inside hip-hop drums. "Better Than a Machine" is dedicated to the late Vic Chesnutt, and employs two of his themes in a perky, rockist tribute with some nice dissonance from Kang and power chords from Frisell. But they also underscore the covers, which are typical of Frisell; they reflect his wide interest in American music and his sense of humor. There's a parlor-room reading of Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer," an elegant version of "Goin' Out of My Head" that features killer pizzicato playing from Kang (and refers more to the original hit version by Little Anthony & the Imperials than the version by Sergio Mendes), the forlorn, wary blues of Blind Willie Johnson's "It's Nobody's Fault But Mine" stretched to the breaking point, and a swinging read of "Benny's Bugle." The blues also appears on "Worried Woman," with a direct quote from John Lennon's "I Found Out" and great rhythmic and harmonic interplay between all members of the trio. There's a sparkling cover of A.P. Carter's "Keep on the Sunny Side" that underscores Frisell's well-documented love of Americana and country music. At an hour in length, this can seem like an overly long exercise at times -- "Tea for Two" feels like an eternity and some of Frisell's originals are a tad amorphous, like cues left off film scores -- but these are minor complaints. Ultimately, Beautiful Dreamers is a wonderfully balanced trio exercise.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 16 track(s)
- Total length: 01:03:11
- Main artists: Bill Frisell
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Savoy
- Genre: Jazz
© 2010 Savoy Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc. ℗ 2010 Savoy Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.