Bill Frisell returns to Denver

Well, well… look who’s on the cover of the February 2023 Guitar Player magazine… Bill Frisell!

In the interview, the Denver East High School graduate cites his first guitar hero, Jimmie Dodd of the Mouseketeers.

(SOURCE: https://youtu.be/XWLrPg_altI)

Among Frisell’s Colorado mentors, are Dale Bruning and Johnny Smith.

The interview’s headline quote reflects Frisell’s wide-open approach to music, “Every note is a question.”  And he emphasizes the conversation he seeks in his music. You can hear that on his latest Blue Note release “Four,” with Gregory Tardy, Johnathan Blake, and Gerald Clayton.

Bill Frisell returns to Denver for “Rainbow Sign: The Music of Ron Miles,” a Ron Miles tribute show with Brian Blade, Jason Moran, and Thomas Morgan on February 10 at the King Center on the MSU-Denver campus. (SOURCE: Guitar Player)

A story from the “signs of the times” file…

Last month in Detroit, pianist Cyrus Chestnut was performing a Charlie Brown Christmas at Symphony Hall, when an audience member yelled out the F-bomb and the N-word, directed at the musicians.

It shocked the audience and made national news, but, undaunted, DSO jazz director Terence Blanchard invited Chestnut to return. Rather than quote – “let hate win,” Chestnut and his trio were warmly embraced last week, and the DSO says they are attempting to ban that audience member from the venue “for life.” (SOURCE: CLICK ON DETROIT)

Congrats to a few musicians from out West who grabbed honorable mention at the third annual Jack Rudin Jazz Championship among nine invited college band programs, held at Jazz at Lincoln Center earlier this month.

The University of Wyoming won for Outstanding Saxophone Section, and Bryce Schlachter from the University of Wyoming won Honorable Mention for drums. Micah Miller also from U-W won an honorable mention for trumpet and original composition.

And kudos to Dr. Ben Markley for coordinating the jazz program up in Laramie.

(SOURCE: Jazz at Lincoln Center; the picture of Bryce Schlachter courtesy of Facebook)

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