Tracks

Performer Notes

Personnel: Bill Frisell (guitar); Don Byron (clarinet, bass clarinet); Guy Klucevsek (accordion); Kermit Driscoll (bass); Joey Baron (drums).
Recorded At RPM Studios, New York, New York in March 1992.
Personnel: Bill Frisell (guitar); Guy Klucevsek (accordion); Don Byron (clarinet, bass clarinet); Joey Baron (drums).
Recording information: RPM Studios, New York, NY (03/1992).
Arranger: Bill Frisell.
This 1993 album is a perfect culmination of the varied strains which have informed Bill Frisell's music. His long-time rhythm section of drummer Joey Baron and bass player Kermit Driscoll are on hand, and other voicings come from clarinetist Don Byron and accordionist Guy Klucevsek.
Coupled with Frisell's own varied and unique guitar tones and approaches, the quintet ably wraps itself around a diverse set of popular, jazz, and classical compositions. Frisell and his quintet take us from the music of Aaron Copland and Charles Ives to that of John Hiatt and Bob Dylan, with forays into works by Sonny Rollins, Muddy Waters, John Phillip Sousa and Stephen Foster. That everything works on its own, and sits so well together despite contrasting styles, speaks volumes for Frisell's musical vision. HAVE A LITTLE FAITH would be an ideal place to begin if you are unfamiliar with Frisell's work and are wondering where to start. Exhilarating and friendly, this label-defying work is a gem.

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (5/13/93, p.107) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Frisell is one of the under-appreciated masters of guitar, perhaps its purest innovator since John McLaughlin...[the album] promises familiar songs, then expands them beyond the composer's original intent..."

Q (3/93, p.86) - 3 Stars - Good - "...it is Frisell's unique amalgam of blues, country, pop and jazz that glues the proceedings together..."

Down Beat (4/93, p.40) - 4 Stars - Very Good - "...a jaunty ride into the sunset....Frisell interprets ballads with respect and sensitivity....HAVE A LITTLE FAITH succeeds in extracting new insights from familiar materials..."

Musician (3/93, p.90) - "...This collection is only Frisell's second since moving to Seattle from metro New York, and depending on your age and address, it's either the weirdest or the most front-porch thing he's done...he's still shooting sparks..."