Songs We Know

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DescriptionExcerpt

Guitarist Frisell and pianist Fred Hersch explore American Songbook classics. Says New York’s Daily News, “Their romanticism is edged with a contemporary tartness ... They remap and reinvigorate standards like ‘I Got Rhythm’ in sly, appealing, and often hilarious ways.”

Description

The album by pianist Fred Hersch and guitarist Bill Frisell, Songs We Know, is a stirring collection of standards. Recorded in 1997 in San Francisco, the session highlights the coming together of two of the most distinctive stylists of our time.

Hersch, whose work “has developed an intensity of intelligence and emotional directness unparalleled among his peers” (The New Yorker) and Frisell, who was deemed “the most significant and widely imitated guitarist to emerge in jazz since the beginning of the 1980s” (New York Times), teamed up for a session that became what Boston Globe jazz critic Bob Blumenthal, in his liner note to the recording, calls “one of the most singular encounters in years.”

Hersch and Frisell trace their relationship back to the 1980s, when they played a few gigs together in New York City, collaborating with such musicians as Marc Johnson and Joey Baron. When they found themselves labelmates on Nonesuch Records, one of Hersch’s first thoughts was to make an album with Frisell.

Frisell and Hersch concur that the session could have gone many different ways, but it was their mutual love for the standards, with all of their simplicity, history, and potential for new interpretation, that led them to what is heard on Songs We Know. Both players are driven by the idea of sound, and the openness of these tunes was a source of inspiration throughout the session.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Lee Townsend
Recorded at Möbius Music, San Francisco
Recording and Mixing Engineer: Christian Jones
Mixed at Different Fur Recording, San Francisco
Assistant Engineer: mark Slagle
Mastered by Craig Calbi at Masterdisk, New York City
Production Assistance: Noel Grey and Louisa Spier
Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

Design by Barbara deWilde
Photograph by Michael Wilson

Nonesuch Selection Number

79468

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
ns_album_artistid
57
ns_album_id
409
ns_album_releasedate
ns_genre_1
0
ns_genre_2
0
Album Status
Artist Name
Fred Hersch
Bill Frisell
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Fred Hersch, piano
Bill Frisell, guitar

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
Price
0.00
UPC
075597946826BUN
Label
MP3
Price
9.00
UPC
075597946864
  • 79468

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."

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  • About This Album

    The album by pianist Fred Hersch and guitarist Bill Frisell, Songs We Know, is a stirring collection of standards. Recorded in 1997 in San Francisco, the session highlights the coming together of two of the most distinctive stylists of our time.

    Hersch, whose work “has developed an intensity of intelligence and emotional directness unparalleled among his peers” (The New Yorker) and Frisell, who was deemed “the most significant and widely imitated guitarist to emerge in jazz since the beginning of the 1980s” (New York Times), teamed up for a session that became what Boston Globe jazz critic Bob Blumenthal, in his liner note to the recording, calls “one of the most singular encounters in years.”

    Hersch and Frisell trace their relationship back to the 1980s, when they played a few gigs together in New York City, collaborating with such musicians as Marc Johnson and Joey Baron. When they found themselves labelmates on Nonesuch Records, one of Hersch’s first thoughts was to make an album with Frisell.

    Frisell and Hersch concur that the session could have gone many different ways, but it was their mutual love for the standards, with all of their simplicity, history, and potential for new interpretation, that led them to what is heard on Songs We Know. Both players are driven by the idea of sound, and the openness of these tunes was a source of inspiration throughout the session.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Fred Hersch, piano
    Bill Frisell, guitar

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Lee Townsend
    Recorded at Möbius Music, San Francisco
    Recording and Mixing Engineer: Christian Jones
    Mixed at Different Fur Recording, San Francisco
    Assistant Engineer: mark Slagle
    Mastered by Craig Calbi at Masterdisk, New York City
    Production Assistance: Noel Grey and Louisa Spier
    Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

    Design by Barbara deWilde
    Photograph by Michael Wilson

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