Listen To The Title Track From Bill Frisell’s New Album, ‘Valentine’
Frisell’s new album is set for release through Blue Note Records on August 14.
Bill Frisell has released “Valentine,” the Monk-ish title track of his forthcoming trio album featuring bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Rudy Royston, which it set to be released on August 14 through Blue Note Records. You can check it out below.
“Valentine” follows two previous singles, the Civil Rights anthem “We Shall Overcome” and “Keep Your Eyes Open,” a new version of a Frisell composition first recorded on his 1997 album Nashville.
Valentine explores the creative freedom of the trio format and the profound relationship that exists between these three musicians after years of touring. The album was produced by Lee Townsend, recorded by Tucker Martine, and features cover artwork by Carole D’Inverno, graphic design by Luke Jacobs, and videos by Monica Jane Frisell.
DownBeat awarded Frisell’s new album a 5-star “Masterpiece” rating with reviewer J.D. Considine writing “Even though the selections on Valentine hail from a range of styles the performances represent jazz playing at its most sublime,” and praising how the trio “consistently and strikingly play as one, voices intertwined, completing phrases as if sharing a single thought.”
Guitar World called the album’s lead single “We Shall Overcome” “about as beautiful an instrumental as you’ll ever hear. Frisell’s leads are nothing short of a work of art, letting the powerful melody take up as much space as it needs.”
Bill Frisell says of his new record, “This album is all about Rudy and Thomas and the musical relationship I have with them. We’ve played a lot for a number of years, but there was no evidence of it, so I really wanted to have a document of it, if only to show that it’s real and not this magical thing that I’ve imagined in my fantasies.”
Author David Hadju writes In the liner notes for the album that Valentine “is not only a gem-cut specimen of the trio art, but a vivid demonstration of the capacity of masters like Frisell, in the manner of Ellington, to push themselves, their collaborators, and their audiences to unexpected heights through the ever-restless force of their creativity.”
Valentine is out on August 14 and can be pre-ordered here.
