Amazing Concert – Bill Frisell

Alaska Cotton Grass and Chugach Mountains, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

I just got home a little while ago from an incredible concert here in Anchorage. I saw Bill Frisell, an AMAZING musician, with Greg Leisz on pedal steel guitar (among other instruments) and Jenny Scheinman on violin. Absolutely amazing. They performed a number of pieces composed and/or arranged to accompany a slide show of photos by Mike Disfarmer. The images themselves are compelling. The music, in Bill’s typical style, is quirky, yet flowing. Together, the performance is beautiful.

I’m still on a little ‘high’ from the show. It was THAT good. Bill Frisell’s been a favorite guitar player of mine for some time, and it’s a treat to hear him perform live. In an intimate setting at the Wendy Williamson Auditorium, UAA, in Anchorage, the 3 people came on stage, with none of the glamor that we so often associate with entertainment today, and did their art. The crowd, small, but almost a full house, were in for a special night. Everyone turned off their phones, nobody talked and chatted about oil prices or the JC Penney Sale, or the memo by Smithers, from the cubicle down the hall; it was just music and imagery. It was also that ‘thing’, that synergy, that an audience gives back, the reciprocity that distinguishes art from spectacle. A sublime experience for all of us.

And does any musician play and compose with more imagery than Bill Frisell? I can’t think of anyone. His music is like a soundtrack for much of the American Landscape, and it struck me when I learned of this project that he, of all people would do a performance of music accompanying images; a perfect match.

If you get the chance to hear or see this performance, definitely go ahead and take it. The universe is a better place because of art like this.

Cheers

Carl

This photo above is another from our trip to Tebay Lakes this past summer.
Wrangell St. Elias National Park Photos.

5 thoughts on “Amazing Concert – Bill Frisell

  1. MaryBeth Lunsford

    That is one beautiful photo!! I wish I were going to be on that next trip. But, unfortunately, I will have to wait a little while to get back on my feet after back surgery. You just don’t know how much it helps me to recover, just to look at these beautiful photos & imagine that one day soon I will be able to explore again. And the stories behind the scenes almost make you feel you are there also. A BIG THANK-YOU!! P.S. I bet that was an awesome concert. I love jazz music. Glad you had time to sit down for a moment & really relax!! Keep it between the ditches, or shall I say keep it between the trees!

  2. Keba

    Poor Carl – From the highs of Bill Frisell to the lows of stuck in Glenallen….. me think’s there may be a break in your blog up-dates but hope to read another post soon…..

    Keba

  3. Carl Donohue

    Hey Mark

    The ‘cotton’ is really cool. It’s not really a flower, but the seed.

    Hello Keba

    Good to see you posting here. How’s life in the Anchor-town?

    Cheers

    Carl

  4. Keba

    Musa said to pass on that it’s actually named “Eriophorum scheuchzeri” but who can pronounce that?

    Keba

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