Bill Frisell - Disfarmer

Title: Disfarmer Artist: Bill Frisell Release Date: 7/21/2009 Label: Nonesuch Records Album Type(s): Promotional , soundtrack UPC: 075597993080 Genre: Jazz Styles: Soundtracks, Original Score, Jazz Instrument, Guitar Jazz Moods: Amiable/Good-Natured, Cerebral, Freewheeling, Laid-Back/Mellow, Playful, Refined/Mannered, Reflective, Searching, Ambitious, Complex, Dramatic, Earnest, Elaborate, Hypnotic, Literate, Meandering, Passionate, Plaintive, Precious, Provocative, Sentimental, Sophisticated, Spacey, Stately, Uncompromising, Witty, Wry Total Copies: 0 Members Wishing: 2 Number of Discs/SwapaCD Credits: 1

1. Disfarmer Theme :: Bill Frisell
2. Lonely Man :: Bill Frisell
3. Lost, Night :: Bill Frisell
4. Farmer :: Bill Frisell
5. Focus :: Bill Frisell
6. Peter Miller's Discovery :: Bill Frisell
7. That's Alright, Mama :: Bill Frisell
8. Little Girl :: Bill Frisell
9. Little Boy :: Bill Frisell
10. No One Gets In :: Bill Frisell
11. Lovesick Blues :: Bill Frisell
12. I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You) :: Bill Frisell
13. Shutter, Dream :: Bill Frisell
14. Exposed :: Bill Frisell
15. The Wizard :: Bill Frisell
16. Think :: Bill Frisell
17. Drink :: Bill Frisell
18. Play :: Bill Frisell
19. I Am Not a Farmer :: Bill Frisell
20. Small Town :: Bill Frisell
21. Arkansas, Pt. 1 :: Bill Frisell
22. Arkansas, Pt. 2 :: Bill Frisell
23. Arkansas, Pt. 3 :: Bill Frisell
24. Lost Again, Dark :: Bill Frisell
25. Natural Light :: Bill Frisell
26. Did You See Him? :: Bill Frisell

Year Type Label Catalog # 2009 CD Nonesuch Records 478524

No other editions were found for this album.

Disfarmer was an outsider artist who became famous for his Depression-era photographs of families, farmers, and individuals around his hometown of Heber Springs, AK. This is set by Bill Frisell is the score commissioned by the Wexner Center for the Arts to accompany a retrospective of the artist's work. Frisell and producer Lee Townsend assembled the guitarist's "country" band for the occasion: violinist Jenny Scheinman, bassist Viktor Krauss, and steel guitarist and mandolinist Greg Leisz. There are 26 cues in this score. Most of them are very sparse, skeletally melodic variations on old-timey parlor music, country blues, and country music, with a few, such as "That's All Right, Mama," done as fusions of hillbilly boogie and square dance music. There's a version of Hank Williams' "Lovesick Blues" that's a showcase for the atmospheric power of Leisz's steel guitar, which adds to the melodic shades of the tune. Most of this, however, falls into moody, extremely minimal music that is haunting in nature -- much like the figure of Disfarmer himself, who scared many of the residents of Heber Springs with his strange and imposing presence. That said, if only Frisell's music were a bit more imposing. This approach of his is so familiar by now that the listener knows exactly what to expect from cue to cue. Tempos vary little, from slow to almost static, and the lyric palette is extremely narrow. In their restraint, the players are all excellent, but nobody here, not even Frisell, shines. Still, it is a pleasant recording to listen to if not hang on to. It floats and hovers about the room as a peaceful backdrop. Disfarmer is to be taken as a soundtrack rather than as a Frisell album proper, and listened to as a series of sketches rather than as a fully assembled statement from the artist. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

Name Credits Adam Blomberg Production Assistant Adam Muñoz Assistant Engineer Bill Frisell Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Acoustic), Loop, Liner Notes, Loops, Music Box Evan Gaffney Design Greg Calbi Mastering Greg Leisz Mandolin, Guitar (Steel) Jenny Scheinman Violin Jesse Nichols Assistant Engineer Lee Townsend Producer, Audio Production Michael "Mick" Wilson Photography, Inlay Photography Mike Disfarmer Photography Taylor Pollert Assistant Engineer Tucker Martine Mixing, Engineer Viktor Krauss Bass, Bass (Upright)