Skúli Sverrisson & Bill Frisell’s first duo outing: Photos, Video

From Newvelle: We are enormously excited to be releasing the first ever colaboration between Icelandic bassist Skúli Sverrisson and iconic guitarist Bill Frisell.  It’s hard to believe that they’ve never played together before, they sound like they were separated at birth… 

Strata: “I almost feel like I didn’t even play on this record.  Compositionally, what Skúli brought is so amazing.  There wasn’t anything for me to do, everything was there already.  So natural for me to fall into–so effortless.  What Skúli chose to play and what he wrote–he built this structure that didn’t have anything blocking me but it was holding me up the whole time.  It feels like we’ve known each other longer that we have.  And it feels like the start of something.” – Bill Frisell

Skúli Sverrisson born in Reykjavik, Iceland, Skuli studied bass and composition with Jon Sigurdsson and began playing professionally in his early teens with jazz trio Gudmundur Ingolfsson. Skuli made his first recording with his own group Pax Vobis in ’84 and later appeared on over 30 recordings with various Icelandic artists. Skuli received his BA degree from Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1990. Joined the Allan Holdsworth Group in ‘91, with whom he toured worldwide over a five-year period and recorded Hard Hat Area.

His work has made him one of the most sought after improvisers in New York’s rich new music scene. His diversity has teamed him up with many of the masters of improvised music such as Derek Bailey, Mark Dresser, Ikue More and Arto Lindsay. As well as performing music from other cultures such as flamingo guitarist Geraldo Nunes, Japanese guitarist Kazume Watanabe and Algerian oud player Baly Ottomani. He is a frequent performer at the New York’s Knitting Factory, Cooler and Tonic with Pachora, Chris Speed’s Yeah No and Ben Monder Trio as well as regular solo performances.

In ‘97 he released his critically acclaimed solo work Seremonie on Extreme records, receiving Alternate Press’s highest rating. Although working in many different genres his work mainly focuses on tape compositions, taking audio snapshots of the interior architecture of sound where his interest in electronics and extended techniques of his instrument meet.

Continuation of this work is has been produced in his electro-acoustic recording Desist with Anthony Burr and Kjar with Hilmar Jensson. Over the last two years Skuli has been Music Director for renowned performance artist Laurie Anderson. They completed the critically acclaimed electronic opera Songs and Stories from Moby Dick in ’99 and performed sold out shows touring both Europe and USA, where his work received high praise. He was the music director on Laurie Anderson’s Grammy nominated “Life on a string”cd for Nonesuch, a project that has brought together great talent such as Bill Frisell, Lou Reed, Hal Wilner and Van Dyke Parks.

Bill Frisell: – In a career spanning more than 25 years and over 200 recordings, including 25 albums of his own, guitarist, composer, and bandleader Bill Frisell is now firmly established as a visionary presence in American music.

He has collaborated with a wide range of artists, filmmakers and legendary musicians. But it is his work as a leader that has garnered increasing attention and accolades. The New York Times described Frisell’s music this way. “It’s hard to find a more fruitful meditation on American music than in the compositions of guitarist Bill Frisell. Mixing rock and country with jazz and blues, he’s found what connects them: improvisation and a sense of play. Unlike other pastichists, who tend to duck passion, Mr. Frisell plays up the pleasure in the music and also takes on another often-avoided subject, tenderness.”

Frisell’s recordings over the last decades span a wide range of musical influences. His catalog, including over twenty recordings for Nonesuch, has been cited by Downbeat as “the best recorded output of the decade.” It includes original Buster Keaton film scores to arrangements of music for extended ensemble with horns (This Land, Blues Dream); adaptations of his compositions originally written as sound-tracks to Gary Larson cartoons (Quartet); interpretations of work by other classic and contemporary American composers (Have a Little Faith) ; and collaborations with the acclaimed rhythm section of bassist Viktor Krauss and drummer Jim Keltner (Gone, Just Like a Train, Good Dog, Happy Man). Other releases include an album with Nashville musicians (Nashville), the solo album Ghost Town, an album of his arrangements of songs by Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach (The Sweetest Punch), a trio album with jazz legends Dave Holland and Elvin Jones, and a collection of American traditional songs and original compositions inspired by them entitled The Willies. The Intercontinentals, nominated for a Grammy in 2004 is an album that combines Frisell’s own brand of American roots music and his unmistakable improvisational style with the influences of Brazilian, Greek, and Malian sounds. His 2004 release, entitled Unspeakable, produced by Hal Wilner, won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. East/West is a two CD set, featuring his two working trios recorded in concert on both coasts. Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian features two jazz legends that Bill considers among his true mentors and musical inspirations. His collaborative project Floratone (Blue Note) with drummer Matt Chamberlain and producers Lee Townsend & Tucker Martine, was described by All About Jazz as “a modern masterpiece.” History, Mystery was nominated for a Grammy award in Best Instrumental Jazz category, featuring an octet of strings, horns and rhythm section with some of his closest music collaborators exploring a fuller palette of compositional colors and timbres than any he has previously written for. “The whole album stands as yet another testament to the man’s place at the very epicenter of modern American music.” – BBC. The recent collection titled The Best of Bill Frisell, Vol 1: Folk Songs is the first in a series of compilations, this one drawn from Frisell’s catalog spotlighting his idiosyncratic excursions into country and traditional folk. His latest album, “Disfarmer”, was inspired by the photographer Mike Disfarmer. It was described by the Houston Chronicle as follows: “Frisell’s pacing is magnificent, and the album sweeps along with purpose like a gorgeous, spacious epic. It is full of sounds that suggest settings and characters, including the mysterious eccentric who inspired the recording.”

Beginning in 2008, a trilogy of Frisell’s music DVD’s was released. First was Solos, shot in Toronto in high definition. Following in 2009, were the long awaited Films of Buster Keaton, Music By Bill Frisell featuring Frisell’s original trio, Kermit Driscoll on bass and Joey Baron on drums as well as Live From Montreal, shot at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2002 and featuring Matt Chamberlain on drums, Billy Drewes on alto saxophone, Curtis Fowlkes on trombone, Ron Miles on cornet and Greg Leisz on steel guitars. It showcases the music of Frisell’s celebrated album, Blues Dream.

In 2006, Frisell was named a USA Rasmuson Fellow and became a recipient of a grant offered by United States Artists, a privately funded organization dedicated to the support of America’s finest living artists.