East / West
EAST
Bill Frisell - electric and acoustic guitars, loops
Tony Scherr - bass, acoustic guitar
Kenny Wolleson - drums, percussion
Recorded Live At The Village Vanguard
New York, New York
December 9 - 12, 2003
WEST
Bill Frisell - guitar, loops
Viktor Krauss - bass
Kenny Wolleson - drums
Recorded Live At Yoshi's
Oakland, California
May 8 - 11, 2004
produced by
Lee Townsend
Year Released: 2005
'West' recorded live direct to 2-track by Claudia Engelhart
Edited by Jon Evans and Lee Townsend at San Pablo Recorders, Berkeley, CA
'East' recorded and mixed by Tucker Martine
Assistant engineer: Mantis Evar
Mixed at In the Pocket Studio, Forestville, CA
Assistant enginner: Jonathan Chi
mastering by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York City
production assistance: Martin Lane, Adam Blomberg
design by Barbara DeWilde
Released on Nonesuch Records
Song List:
Disc One WEST
I Heard It Through the Grapevine
Blues for Los Angeles
Shenandoah
Boubacar
Pipe Down
A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
Disc Two EAST
My Man's Gone Now
The Days of Wine and Roses
You Can Run
Ron Carter
Interlude
Goodnight Irene
The Vanguard
People
Crazy
Tennessee Flat Top Box
Reviews
Bill Frisell is unquestionably one of the major figures in jazz today, and a revolutionary guitarist who has genuinely changed the way people play and think about the instrument.... One thing that has remained consistent is Frisell's brilliance as a live performer, particularly in a trio setting...
Finally we have "East/West," two discs of live trio recording, "East" with bassist Tony Scherr, "West" with bassist Victor Krauss, and both with drummer Kenny Wolleson. And it was worth the wait: This is the most satisfying record he's released since 1999's "Good Dog, Happy Man," and one of the best of his career.
The two trios are vastly different. In general terms, the Krauss trio works by accumulation, presenting a monolithic block with Frisell using delay and loops to build up layers of sound, and aims to mesmerize, while the Scherr trio, which operates much closer to traditional jazz, works by disruption, refusing to entirely cohere, dislocating phrases mid-thought. Wolleson, essentially a groove player in the Krauss trio (and a monstrously good one), becomes an interactive, improvising presence in the Scherr trio.
In both settings Frisell is a wonder, but if I had to pick a single track that shows the possibilities of what he's capable of these days in a trio setting, it would be the 14-minute "Ron Carter" off of "East." The piece begins with phasing, minimalist textures, and ends with an even more explicitly Steve Reich-ian passage, but in between Frisell lets loose with his full arsenal of sounds. There are plenty of great note improvisers and plenty of great sound improvisers, but very few, like Frisell, have a true mastery of both, and it can be awe-inspiring to hear him manipulating his sound with such creativity while simultaneously playing a solo that Jim Hall would be proud to have formulated. For any skeptics of modern jazz, this should be required listening. - Thomas Barlett, Salon.com