The Willies
His collaborations with John Zorn, Marc Johnson, and Paul Motian have shown that guitarist Bill Frisell is no stranger to the bustle and grind of rock and bebop, but onThe Willieshe again prefers a gentle ramble through the byways of American folk. Joined by Danny Barnes (Bad Livers) on banjo, guitar, bass harmonica, and pump organ, and Keith Lowe on bass, Frisell wanders dreamily through a mixture of bluegrass standards and originals. The pace hovers around a stroll and the rhythms, melodies, and harmonies are generally true to the idiom. Frisell's longstanding affinity with jazz may perhaps be deduced by the occasionally dark harmonic undertow, a suggestion that all may not be well down on the farm. Those with a taste for Ry Cooder's glowering 1985 soundtrack toParis, Texasmay find happiness withThe Willies.--Mark Gilbert