The Westerlies Do Frisell

It’s sort of amazing to think that Bill Frisell, despite being as prolific as he is, also has so much unrecorded music sitting around that he can hand enough to constitute a concert-length program to another ensemble, here the Westerlies, and on top of it, that program introduces a new album that is apparently, per its title, the first in a planned series: Have You Heard? The Music of Bill Frisell, Vol. 1. The unusual format of the Westerlies, a quartet, is two trumpets (Riley Mulherkar, Chloe Rowlands) and two trombones (Andy Clausen, Addison Maye-Saxon), and despite the fact that essentially between them at any time there are two fewer notes than Frisell can, on his own (not even counting his various electronic processing devices), ring out of his electric guitar, they masterfully summon up his earthy mix of jazz and Americana, of tradition and experimentation, and bring an enticing attentiveness to their brainy arrangements, which also serve as a testament to Frisell’s substantial legacy. The video was recorded live in concert at Roulette on March 26, and it sounds like it’s from some alternate universe where the OG Knitting Factory and Preservation Hall are/were one and the same place. More on the group at westerliesmusic.com. And check out the album’s Bandcamp page for the informative liner notes, which include a message from Frisell himself.