Bill Frisell
2013-09-12
Miner Auditorium
SFJAZZ Center, 205 Franklin St, San Francisco, CA
7:30 PM, Thursday, September 12, 2013

[7:34 PM lights down, Introduction by Mount V. Allen, III; Frisell & Osby take the stage]

1. [7:39 PM] ? »
2. [7:46 PM] ? Lush Life
3. [7:51 PM] ?
4. [7:57 PM] ?
5. [8:03 PM] ?
6. [8:11 PM] ?
   [set ends 8:17 PM]

[8:44 PM lights down, Geri & Bill come onstage]

1. [8:46 PM] ?
2. [8:55 PM] ?
3. [9:03 PM] ?
4. [9:12 PM] ?
5. [9:21 PM] ?
6. [9:28 PM] Honeysuckle Rose
   [add Greg Osby]
7. [9:33 PM] ?
   [set ends 9:48 PM]
   
   Encore
8. [9:49 PM; trio] ? std
   [show ends 9:55 PM]

• Geri Allen: piano;
• Bill Frisell: guitar, effects;
• Greg Osby: alto saxophone.

Tonight's gig offered two very different approaches to establishing a drummerless duo. In the first set, Osby and Frisell relied mainly on staccato, pointilist phrases – perhaps to emphasize a non-chordal style. I was surprised that Bill refrained from chordal comps or effects-augmented washes, and I can only assume that it was a conscious choice on his part. In any event, it made for an interesting hour of listening!

For the second set, by way of contrast, Geri and Bill relied heavily on arpeggio runs and sustained trills in their performance. Naturally this resulted in a considerably lusher sound than the relatively astringent model displayed in the first set. And while I'd felt quite challenged as a listener, the mental effort kept me alert and attentive, trying to ID the tunes. During the second set, I was able to relax and permit my attention to be swept away on the shimmering waves of sound.

I thought Geri's playing tonight was reminiscent of Alice Coltrane, particularly through the way that her playing evoked a harp-like tone. I would have been happy to have Geri play both sets – but I guess that was Bill's call, and it would have lessened the contrast between the two halves of the show.

Steven Smoliar weighed in about the gig too; you can read his thoughts on the Chronicle-Examiner website.

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