Bill Frisell: A Portrait

Over four decades of being a distinctive presence, Bill Frisell (*1951) has acquired a worldwide audience that has more than an inkling about the working methods and person of this kindly smiling musician. This documentary film by Australian film maker and musician Emma Franz gives a sensitive, in-depth insight into essential traits of this exceptional musician, whose career began in Belgium and Norway and with a German label. The film is guided by Frisell’s assertion that you cannot hope to understand things by isolating yourself, but rather by opening your spirit and welcoming new experiences. In her film, Franz shows what the strength of a smile can achieve when it comes to reconciling the irreconcilable. Drummer Joey Barone, a key character in the New York-based development phase of Bill Frisell’s, is a wonderful raconteur of exactly these stories, including their astonishing twists and turns. He talks about, for instance, the back-story of Baron’s and Frisell’s first performance together, or Frisell’s part in John Zorn’s “Naked City”. Emma Franz’ portrait is a worthwhile pendant to the experience of hearing Bill Frisell’s music, providing plenty of aha-moments.

Website of the film “Bill Frisell: A Portrait”