Music IS

Music IS is a solo studio album by American jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, which was released on the OKeh label on March 16, 2018.[1][2]

Music IS
Studio album by Bill Frisell
Released	March 16, 2018
Recorded	August 23–27, 2017
Studio	Flora Recording and Playback, Portland, OR
Genre	Jazz
Length	58:34
Label	OKeh 19075815002
Producer	Lee Townsend
Bill Frisell chronology
Small Town (2017) Music IS (2018) Harmony (2019)

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The Absolute Sound	[3]
AllMusic	[4]
All About Jazz	[5]
The Times	[6]
Tom Hull	B+[7]
Financial Times	[8]

On PopMatters, Will Layman wrote, "Music Is is just Frisell and his guitars, usually overdubbed in subtle layers of sound, playing both old tunes of his and new compositions, sounding uniquely like himself: haunted and lyrical, pastoral and quirky at the same time ... Music Is not only revisits wonderful Frisell songs from decades ago, but it also gives us the chance to recall why Frisell always mattered—in jazz—as a guitar innovator".[9] Matt Collar of AllMusic states, "With Music IS, Frisell offers an intimate window into his creative process, an open conversation with himself. Thankfully, that conversation also remains open to, and deeply satisfying for, the listener".[4] On All About Jazz, John Kelman said "Hopefully artists evolve over the course of their careers, but every now and then evolution becomes revolution, and Music IS is, indeed, revolutionary. Frisell has come a long way since his first major label appearance with Eberhard Weber, on the German bassist's Fluid Rustle (ECM, 1979), with every album reflecting some kind of development and, more importantly, musical assimilation. But Music IS represents a significant leap forward for Frisell as a guitarist, composer and conceptualist".[5]

Damian Fanelli of Guitar World wrote, "The focus of Music IS is on the telling of musical stories from Frisell's original and inimitable perspective: some of the interpretations being naked, exposed and truly solo, while others are more orchestrated through overdubbed layering and the use of his unparalleled approach to looping".[10] Larry Blumenfeld of The Wall Street Journal said, "A new album serves as a reminder that the guitarist is a distinctive composer, crafting music that is simultaneously accessible and subversive."[11]

Track listing

All compositions by Bill Frisell

1. "Pretty Stars" – 3:58
2. "Winslow Homer" – 3:27
3. "Change in the Air" – 2:20
4. "What Do You Want?" – 2:45
5. "Thankful" – 5:10
6. "Ron Carter" – 4:44
7. "Think About it" – 1:00
8. "In Line" – 5:00
9. "Rambler" – 6:33
10. "The Pioneers" – 4:13
11. "Monica Jane" – 5:39
12. "Miss You" – 3:34
13. "Go Happy Lucky" – 2:55
14. "Kentucky Derby" – 2:05
15. "Made to Shine" – 2:21
16. "Rambler" [Alternate Version] – 2:50 Bonus Track

Personnel

• Bill Frisell – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, loops, ukulele, music box

References

1. Bill Frisell website, accessed December 28, 2018
2. Okeh Records website, accessed December 28, 2018
3. Milkowski, Bill (August 2, 2018). "Bill Frisell: Music IS". The Absolute Sound. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
4. Collar, Matt. Music IS – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
5. Kelman, J. All About Jazz Review, accessed December 28, 2018
6. Pearson, Chris (9 March 2018). "Jazz review: Bill Frisell: Music IS". The Times. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
7. "Tom Hull: Grade List: Bill Frisell". Tom Hull. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
8. Hobart, Mike. "Bill Frisell: Music IS — 'richly detailed'". Financial Times. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
9. Layman, W. PopMatters: Conversations with Himself: Guitarist Bill Frisell on His New Solo Guitar Outing, accessed December 28, 2018
10. Fanelli, D. Guitar World: Bill Frisell Announces 'Music IS,' His First Solo-Guitar Album in 18 Years, accessed December 28, 2018
11. Blumenfeld, Larry (20 March 2018). "'Music Is' by Bill Frisell Review: Where Many Genres Meet". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 1 April 2020.