World renowned guitarist and composer Bill Frisell is a Grammy winner who has collaborated with artists as diverse as Elvis Costello, Bono, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon and many more. Bill has the honor of being the 2013 Resident Artistic Director for the new SFJAZZ Center's inaugural season. Bill was also recently recognized in the first class of the Doris Duke Performing Artist Awards which celebrates America's 21 most vital and productive performing artists. Bill is an 11-time Best Guitarist winner in the DownBeat Critics Poll (including 2012) and a 3-time Guitarist of the Year at the Jazz Awards (including 2012). The Wall Street Journal says "Bill Frisell is the most innovative and influential jazz guitarist of the past 25 years." Bill is available for the 2013/2014 season in several formats including the multi-media project, The Great Flood: Music by Bill Frisell and Film by Bill Morrison; the John Lennon inspired All We Are Saying: Bill Frisell Explores the Songs of John Lennon; and two of his most beloved bands - Bill Frisell's Beautiful Dreamers featuring Eyvind Kang & Rudy Royston and Bill Frisell's 858 Quartet featuring Eyvind Kang, Hank Roberts and Jenny Scheinman. Take advantage of this opportunity to present one of America's most unique and important Jazz artists at his creative peak
The Great Flood program is an evening-long suite of music composed by Bill Frisell also featuring Tony Scherr on bass, Kenny Wollesen on drums and Ron Miles on trumpet. Based on the Mississippi River Flood of 1927 and the ensuing transformation of American society and music, staging includes a full length film produced by multiple Bessie and Obie Award winner Bill Morrison for the duration of the concert. The Great Flood performance made its debut in the 2011/2012 season at such venues as Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Krannert Center at the University of Illinois, Dartmouth College, Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Duke University, the San Francisco Jazz Festival and UC-San Diego. (more information)
Bill Frisell explores the songs of John Lennon on his new album, All We Are Saying, set for release on September 27, 2011. Bill has assembled a trusted ensemble consisting of Jenny Scheinman (violin), Tony Scherr (bass), Greg Leisz (guitars) and Kenny Wollesen (drums) to record his definitive take on the classic songs of John Lennon. Says Frisell: "John Lennon's music has been with me, the band, everybody, the world...seems like forever. The songs are part of us. In our blood. There was nothing we really needed to do to prepare for this. We've been preparing our whole lives. The songs are there. All we had to do was play them… Everyone involved has their own personal, deep, long, relationship to John Lennon's music. It connects us all and brings us together."
This performance features a combination of two of Bill's most beloved bands and two of his more recent recording projects - Beautiful Dreamers and The 858 Quartet. Beautiful Dreamers is a stunning CD consisting of original compositions and striking reinterpretations performed along with the virtuoso talents of Eyvind Kang (viola) and Rudy Royston (drums). Sign of Life: Music for the 858 Quartet was released in April 2011 and features Jenny Scheinman (violin), Eyvind Kang (viola), and Hank Roberts (cello). Bill says about these bands "I'm so fortunate having the chance to play music with all of these musicians and having an audience willing to go along for the latest adventure.
