Small Town and Epistrophy

Released two years apart, these records were culled from the same series of concerts at the legendary Village Vanguard in New York in March 2016. It was the first time the two musicians had teamed up, and man, what a team! The guitarist has found in Morgan, on the double bass, an accomplice who seems to give him wings so much his playing flies on some pieces. Whether they revisit Monk, Strayhorn, Motian, some Americana standard or one of John Barry’s themes for Agent 007, we can hear Frisell’s characteristic way of breaking down melodies to explore their harmonic possibilities. Listening to him, we picture him on stage, smiling with delight as he usually does, and we smile in turn.