Valentine (Bill Frisell album)

Valentine
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 14, 2020
Recordedlate 2019
StudioFlora Recording & Playback, Portland, OR
GenreJazz
Length65:27
LabelBlue Note
ProducerLee Townsend
Bill Frisell chronology
Harmony
(2019)
Valentine
(2020)

Valentine is a studio album by American jazz guitarist Bill Frisell.[1] The album was released on August 14, 2020, by Blue Note Records.[2] This is his second release on the label.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz[3]
AllMusic[2]
Financial Times[4]
DownBeat[5]
Jazz Journal[6]
RIFF8/10[7]
Spectrum Culture[8]
The Times[9]

Thom Jurek of AllMusic stated, "Valentine is a portrait of this trio at a creative peak. While not the liveliest record in Frisell's catalog, it is one of his most inquiring, rhythmically inventive, and lyrical. Given his voluminous discography, that's saying plenty."[2] Ian Patterson of All About Jazz noted, "With Valentine, Frisell, Royston and Morgan revel in the tight but loose interplay that is a hallmark of the best groups, plying a course as deeply lyrical as it is adventurous. Feels like the beginning of a great adventure."[3] Jazz Journal review by Elliot Marlow-Stevens commented, "Valentine represents the more reserved, gentle approach to music that he demonstrated on albums like 1992’s Have a Little Faith. Nonetheless, it is still a highly original album, delivered with the ability and skill of a veteran jazz guitarist."[6] Jake Cole in his review for Spectrum Culture stated, "A breezy combination of blues, folk and jazz, Frisell’s latest is the sound of a maestro gently flexing his immense skills."[8] Chris Pearson of The Times wrote, "Bill Frisell has been exploring the fringes of jazz guitar so much lately that a trio album arrives as a bold departure. Yet the familiar elements remain: nostalgia, solitude and contemplation cloaked in an atmosphere of dead-of-night tranquillity."[9]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Baba Drame"Boubacar Traoré4:59
2."Hour Glass"Frisell2:59
3."Valentine"Frisell6:28
4."Levees"Frisell6:04
5."Winter Always Turns to Spring"Frisell5:11
6."Keep Your Eyes Open"Frisell6:05
7."A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing"Billy Strayhorn7:23
8."Electricity"Frisell3:19
9."Wagon Wheels"Billy Hill, Peter DeRose4:15
10."Aunt Mary"Frisell3:19
11."What the World Needs Now Is Love"Burt Bacharach, Hal David5:56
12."Where Do We Go?"Frisell3:09
13."We Shall Overcome"Traditional6:26
Total length:65:27

Personnel

References

  1. ^ "Bill Frisell "Valentine":: New Album Out Now". Blue Note. August 14, 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Jurek, Thom (2020). "Valentine - Bill Frisell | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  3. ^ a b Patterson, Ian (August 3, 2020). "Bill Frisell: Valentine album review @ All About Jazz". All About Jazz. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  4. ^ Hobart, Mike. "Valentine - unrivalled in jazz". Financial Times. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  5. ^ Considine, J.D. (August 2020). "Bill Frisell Valentine (Blue Note)". DownBeat. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  6. ^ a b Marlow-Stevens, Elliot (11 August 2020). "Bill Frisell: Valentine". Jazz Journal. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  7. ^ Heilman, Max (13 August 2020). "ALBUM REVIEW: Bill Frisell writes a love letter to his trio with 'Valentine'". RIFF Magazine. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  8. ^ a b Cole, Jake (26 August 2020). "Bill Frisell: Valentine". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  9. ^ a b Pearson, Chris (August 7, 2020). "Bill Frisell: Valentine review — a guitarist with a knack for revealing the secret heart of a tune". The Times. Retrieved 24 August 2020.