Small Town (album)

Small Town is a live album by Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan recorded at the Village Vanguard in 2016 and released on the ECM label the following year.[1][2] It was Frisell's first album as a leader for the label since 1987's Lookout for Hope. More music from the same recording session was released in 2019 as the follow-up album, Epistrophy.

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic79/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
All About Jazz[5]
Blurt[6]
The Guardian[7]
The Irish Times[8]
The Times[9]
Tom HullB+[10]
Small Town
Live album by
Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan
ReleasedMay 26, 2017
RecordedMarch 2016
VenueVillage Vanguard, NYC
GenreJazz
Length68:02
LabelECM
ECM 2525
ProducerManfred Eicher
Bill Frissell chronology
When You Wish Upon a Star
(2016)		 Small Town
(2017)		 Music IS
(2018)

Reception

Response was generally positive, with the AllMusic review by Thom Jurek stating, "Morgan is a deeply intuitive player with a glorious earthy, woody tone. He anchors Frisell's more speculative tendencies, allowing the unexpected (and perhaps previously undiscovered) room to emerge and hold its ground between them with the seams showing. Small Town is an excellent showcase for this duo; here's hoping it's only a first volley."[4] On All About Jazz, John Kelman noted, "Frisell proves that it's possible to bring together original music, country music, jazz standards and more in an unfettered duet setting ... with Small Town, Frisell has clearly found another ideal musical foil to add to his growing cadre of musicians with whom he collaborates on a regular basis. Intimate, beautiful and deep, while at the same time knotty, witty and curiously skewed, Small Town delivers, in many ways, on the promise of In Line's five duo tracks 35 years on, with a live set that proves great music isn't just where you find it; it's everywhere".[5] In The Guardian, John Fordham called it an "almost psychically empathic duo set" and observed, "Morgan’s quick anticipations of Frisell’s moves give their conversations a startling buoyancy".[7] In Stereophile, Robert Baird wrote, "Perhaps a bit too samey in approach for newcomers to his music, this is Frisell adding yet again to his ever growing, ever impressive legacy".[11]

Track listing
  1. "It Should Have Happened a Long Time Ago" (Paul Motian) – 11:05
  2. "Subconscious Lee" (Lee Konitz) – 7:31
  3. "Song for Andrew No. 1" (Bill Frisell) – 9:35
  4. "Wildwood Flower" (Joseph Philbrick Webster, Maud Irving) – 5:08
  5. "Small Town" (Bill Frisell) – 8:57
  6. "What a Party" (Dave Bartholomew, Fats Domino, Pearl King) – 6:41
  7. "Poet - Pearl" (Bill Frisell, Thomas Morgan) – 12:04
  8. "Goldfinger" (John Barry, Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley) – 7:01

Personnel

References
  1. ECM Catalog: ECM 2525, accessed October 30, 2017
  2. Bill Frisell Website, accessed October 30, 2017
  3. "Small Town [Live] by Bill Frisell". Metacritic. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  4. Jurek, Thom. Bill Frisell: Small Town – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  5. All About Jazz Review, accessed October 30, 2017
  6. Toland, Michael (2017). "BILL FRISELL/THOMAS MORGAN - Small Town". Blurt Magazine. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  7. The Guardian Review, June 16, 2017
  8. Larkin, Cormac (22 June 2017). "Bill Frisell & Thomas Morgan - Small Town: childlike, playful, explorative". The Irish Times. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  9. Pearson, Chris (9 June 2017). "Jazz review: Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan: Small Town". The Times. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  10. "Tom Hull: Grade List: Bill Frisell". Tom Hull. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  11. Stereophile Review, accessed October 30, 2017
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