Ghost Town

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genre
Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

Frisell’s first-ever solo album is an evocative, highly personal meditation on American roots music, including interpretations of Hank Williams and A. P. Carter. Noted Billboard, “Frisell conjures off-kilter prairie hymns and bent Appalachian waltzes ... Ghost Town sounds like a classic already.”

Description

Guitarist, composer, and bandleader Bill Frisell marked his first-ever solo release in 2000 with Ghost Town, a project he considers a major personal milestone. The idea of making a solo record is one that had been simmering for a long time, “for as long as I’ve been playing,” recounts Frisell.

Frisell believes that one of the most important aspects of music in general, and certainly in his own music making, is interaction. An essential element of his creative process is responding to stimulus from other musicians, and so the prospect of playing alone was a great challenge, both technically and creatively. Finding a way to be comfortable with silence was one of his primary concerns with the truly solo performances. For the more layered material, through the use of loops and overdubbing, Frisell learned to rely solely on his own sound, creating an environment where he could feel the same sense of responding to other musical voices.

Much of the original material on the album (except for "Ghost Town" and "Poem for Eva") receives its first recording here. Rounding out the set of originals are several cover tunes that Frisell links to various historical periods in his life and different stages in his musical development. “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” by Hank Williams and “Wildwood Flower” by A.P. Carter reflect on some of the ideas he had been exploring in the previous few years. Frisell has been a fan of John McLaughlin ever since he started listening to jazz in 1969, when he heard McLaughlin on Miles Davis’ classic Bitches Brew sessions, and McLaughlin’s “Follow Your Heart” had been a favorite for some time. Frisell first heard “My Man’s Gone Now” (George & Ira Gershwin) the very first time he discovered Jim Hall on a recording with Bill Evans.

Ghost Town is Bill Frisell’s 13th recording for Nonesuch.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Lee Townsend
Recorded and Mixed at Mobius Music, San Francisco
Recording and Mixing Engineer: Christian Jones
Additional Mixing and Editing at Different Fur Recording, San Francisco
Additional Editing: Adam Muñoz
Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York City

Production Assistance: Louisa Spier
Artwork by Claude Utley (Sunman in a Landscape, Musician with a Guitar, Orange Haired Woman of the Autumn Village, Under a Golden Sky, Ancient Masonry)
Design: Gwen Terpstra, Terpstra Design, San Francisco
Photographs of Bill: Luciano Viti

Nonesuch Selection Number

79583

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
ns_album_artistid
38
ns_album_id
83
ns_album_releasedate
ns_genre_1
0
ns_genre_2
0
Album Status
Artist Name
Bill Frisell
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Bill Frisell, electric and acoustic guitars, 6-string banjo, loops and bass
 

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
UPC
075597958324BUN
Label
MP3
Price
9.00
UPC
075597958362
  • 79583

News & Reviews

  • Ambrose Akinmusire's Nonesuch debut album, Owl Song, featuring guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Herlin Riley, has received critical acclaim since its release in December, including being named among the year's best by the New York Times, Jazzwise, and the Irish Times, which says: "Akinmusire is a generational talent ... From the first notes of the opening title track you know you are in a place of great beauty." DownBeat says: "A quiet rush of gorgeous sound where space, tone and beauty come together in one of the most impactful albums of 2023 ... This is one of the most interesting recordings to come along in a very long time by one of the most interesting artists of our time." The Wall Street Journal says: "It sounds like a tiny, joyous celebration ... Gorgeous details abound." The Financial Times calls him "the standout trumpeter of his generation" and says: "The one-off ensemble becomes a heavenly match." Record Collector says: "Akinmusire opens a fresh chapter in his career with the quietly magnificent Owl Song, arguably his most accomplished recording yet."

  • "This is my reaction to being assaulted by information," composer and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire says of his Nonesuch debut album, Owl Song, due December 15, featuring a trio with two musicians he has long admired, guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Herlin Riley. "This record is me wanting to create a safe space. Part of the challenge was: Can I create something that's oriented around open space, the way some of the records I love the most do?" You can hear "Owl Song 1" here now. The New York Times says: "Akinmusire has been making some of the most intimate, spellbinding music of his career." Pitchfork has called his work "music that seeks peace not just despite a world of unrest, but within it."

Buy Now

  • About This Album

    Guitarist, composer, and bandleader Bill Frisell marked his first-ever solo release in 2000 with Ghost Town, a project he considers a major personal milestone. The idea of making a solo record is one that had been simmering for a long time, “for as long as I’ve been playing,” recounts Frisell.

    Frisell believes that one of the most important aspects of music in general, and certainly in his own music making, is interaction. An essential element of his creative process is responding to stimulus from other musicians, and so the prospect of playing alone was a great challenge, both technically and creatively. Finding a way to be comfortable with silence was one of his primary concerns with the truly solo performances. For the more layered material, through the use of loops and overdubbing, Frisell learned to rely solely on his own sound, creating an environment where he could feel the same sense of responding to other musical voices.

    Much of the original material on the album (except for "Ghost Town" and "Poem for Eva") receives its first recording here. Rounding out the set of originals are several cover tunes that Frisell links to various historical periods in his life and different stages in his musical development. “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” by Hank Williams and “Wildwood Flower” by A.P. Carter reflect on some of the ideas he had been exploring in the previous few years. Frisell has been a fan of John McLaughlin ever since he started listening to jazz in 1969, when he heard McLaughlin on Miles Davis’ classic Bitches Brew sessions, and McLaughlin’s “Follow Your Heart” had been a favorite for some time. Frisell first heard “My Man’s Gone Now” (George & Ira Gershwin) the very first time he discovered Jim Hall on a recording with Bill Evans.

    Ghost Town is Bill Frisell’s 13th recording for Nonesuch.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Bill Frisell, electric and acoustic guitars, 6-string banjo, loops and bass
     

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Lee Townsend
    Recorded and Mixed at Mobius Music, San Francisco
    Recording and Mixing Engineer: Christian Jones
    Additional Mixing and Editing at Different Fur Recording, San Francisco
    Additional Editing: Adam Muñoz
    Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York City

    Production Assistance: Louisa Spier
    Artwork by Claude Utley (Sunman in a Landscape, Musician with a Guitar, Orange Haired Woman of the Autumn Village, Under a Golden Sky, Ancient Masonry)
    Design: Gwen Terpstra, Terpstra Design, San Francisco
    Photographs of Bill: Luciano Viti

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