Music IS

{{Infobox album

| name = Music IS

| type = Studio

| artist = Bill Frisell

| cover = Music IS.jpg

| border = yes

| released = March 16, 2018

| recorded = August 23–27, 2017

| venue =

| studio = Flora Recording & Playback, Portland, OR

| genre = Jazz

| length = 58:34

| label = OKeh
19075815002

| producer = Lee Townsend

| chronology = Bill Frisell

| prev_title = Small Town

| prev_year = 2017

| next_title = Harmony

| next_year = 2019

}}

Music IS is a solo studio album by American jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, which was released on the OKeh label on March 16, 2018.[http://billfrisell.com/new-releases/ Bill Frisell website], accessed December 28, 2018[https://www.okeh-records.com/2018/03/02/release-bill-frisell-music-is Okeh Records website], accessed December 28, 2018

Reception

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = The Absolute Sound

| rev1score={{rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web |last1=Milkowski |first1=Bill |title=Bill Frisell: Music IS |url=https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/bill-frisell-music-is/ |website=The Absolute Sound |accessdate=20 July 2020 |language=en |date=August 2, 2018}}

| rev2 = AllMusic

| rev2Score = {{rating|4|5}}

| rev3 = All About Jazz

| rev3Score= {{Rating|5|5}}

| rev4 = Financial Times

| rev4score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web |last1=Hobart |first1=Mike |title=Bill Frisell: Music IS — ‘richly detailed’ |url=https://www.ft.com/content/78a7bb9c-2c35-11e8-a34a-7e7563b0b0f4 |website=Financial Times |accessdate=24 August 2020}}

| rev5 = Jazz Forum

| rev5Score= {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web |last1=Gumiński |first1=Cezary |title=Music Is {{!}} Jazz Forum |url=http://jazzforum.com.pl/index.php/main/cd/music-is |website=Jazz Forum |access-date=17 May 2021 |date=2018}}

| rev6 = Tom Hull

| rev6score = B+{{cite web |title=Tom Hull: Grade List: Bill Frisell | url=http://tomhull.com/ocston/nm/get_gl.php?n=Bill+Frisell| publisher=Tom Hull |accessdate=27 July 2020}}

| rev7 = The Times

| rev7score={{rating|4|5}}{{cite web |last1=Pearson |first1=Chris |title=Jazz review: Bill Frisell: Music IS |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/jazz-review-bill-frisell-music-is-qxfmw9tcn |website=The Times |access-date=20 July 2020 |language=en |date=9 March 2018}}

}}

On PopMatters, Will Layman wrote, "Music Is is just Frisell and his guitars, usually overdubbed in subtle layers of sound, playing both old tunes of his and new compositions, sounding uniquely like himself: haunted and lyrical, pastoral and quirky at the same time ... Music Is not only revisits wonderful Frisell songs from decades ago, but it also gives us the chance to recall why Frisell always mattered—in jazz—as a guitar innovator".Layman, W. [https://www.popmatters.com/conversations-with-bill-frisell-2543086803.html PopMatters: Conversations with Himself: Guitarist Bill Frisell on His New Solo Guitar Outing], accessed December 28, 2018 Matt Collar of AllMusic states, "With Music IS, Frisell offers an intimate window into his creative process, an open conversation with himself. Thankfully, that conversation also remains open to, and deeply satisfying for, the listener".{{allMusic|first=Matt|last=Collar|class=album|id=mw0003148907|title=Music IS – Review|accessdate= December 28, 2018}} On All About Jazz, John Kelman said "Hopefully artists evolve over the course of their careers, but every now and then evolution becomes revolution, and Music IS is, indeed, revolutionary. Frisell has come a long way since his first major label appearance with Eberhard Weber, on the German bassist's Fluid Rustle (ECM, 1979), with every album reflecting some kind of development and, more importantly, musical assimilation. But Music IS represents a significant leap forward for Frisell as a guitarist, composer and conceptualist".Kelman, J. [https://www.allaboutjazz.com/music-is-bill-frisell-okeh-review-by-john-kelman.php All About Jazz Review], accessed December 28, 2018

Damian Fanelli of Guitar World wrote, "The focus of Music IS is on the telling of musical stories from Frisell's original and inimitable perspective: some of the interpretations being naked, exposed and truly solo, while others are more orchestrated through overdubbed layering and the use of his unparalleled approach to looping".Fanelli, D. [https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/bill-frisell-announces-music-is-his-first-solo-album-in-18-years Guitar World: Bill Frisell Announces 'Music IS,' His First Solo-Guitar Album in 18 Years], accessed December 28, 2018 Larry Blumenfeld of The Wall Street Journal said, "A new album serves as a reminder that the guitarist is a distinctive composer, crafting music that is simultaneously accessible and subversive."{{cite web |last1=Blumenfeld |first1=Larry |title=‘Music Is’ by Bill Frisell Review: Where Many Genres Meet |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/music-is-by-bill-frisell-review-where-many-genres-meet-1521572356 |website=Wall Street Journal |accessdate=1 April 2020 |date=20 March 2018}}

Track listing

All compositions by Bill Frisell

  1. "Pretty Stars" – 3:58
  2. "Winslow Homer" – 3:27
  3. "Change in the Air" – 2:20
  4. "What Do You Want?" – 2:45
  5. "Thankful" – 5:10
  6. "Ron Carter" – 4:44
  7. "Think About it" – 1:00
  8. "In Line" – 5:00
  9. "Rambler" – 6:33
  10. "The Pioneers" – 4:13
  11. "Monica Jane" – 5:39
  12. "Miss You" – 3:34
  13. "Go Happy Lucky" – 2:55
  14. "Kentucky Derby" – 2:05
  15. "Made to Shine" – 2:21
  16. "Rambler" [Alternate Version] – 2:50 Bonus Track

Personnel

References