Bill Frisell and Greg Leisz

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 1 May 2002 10:27 am

These guys are playing here in Portland Friday night.
Has anybody seen them on this tour?
Sounds like they are performing as a duo.
Thanks for any reviews (I've decided to go, having missed them last time through).
~pb

Pete Grant · Post by **Pete Grant** » 1 May 2002 12:50 pm

Greg is a fine player--very melodic and expressive--and he plays what works best in every setting. I can't see how you can go wrong.

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 1 May 2002 1:00 pm

I was preparing a long reply when Pete posted his two sentences and said all I was trying to say. I have become a real admirer of Greg's even though I've never seen him live. I've seen him at least three times on TV (Sessions at 54 with Emmylou and ensemble in the tribute to Gram and another one that I can't think of right now and a kd lang special) and he recently did two weeks on Prairie Home Companion, mostly dobro. It's music first with Greg. He plays with the kind of solid touch that makes you know that he could probably haul off some impressive chops kind of stuff. But he doesn't. He makes music. I hope to catch him next time he comes thru town.

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 1 May 2002 3:29 pm

Don't miss them, Pete! They've been making some great albums together.

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<img align=right src="http://b0b.com/b0b.gif" width="64" height="64">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (F Diatonic) Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6)

Pete Grant · Post by **Pete Grant** » 4 May 2002 12:44 pm

Pete,

Did you go to the concert?

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 5 May 2002 8:32 am

Yep!
It was a cool show.
Greg played an old 6 string lap (looked like an old National), as well as 6 string Dobro and what looked like a 6 string Chandler lap with 2 pickups.
He sounded great and his technique and tone were really impressive.
Bill Frisell is a great guitar player.
They did alot of loop based musical construction... where they started out with just a few notes that were looped, then layered and layered and layered until it was this huge groove.
It was pretty cool.
I must say there were a few points where I felt like narrating the intro to Star Trek ie: "Stardate 2973.5, Spock and I are walking the surface of the black planet..."
Pretty spacy stuff.
Greg was great and the audience really enjoyed the show!
About 500 folks were there (sell out is 600).

Olli Haavisto · Post by **Olli Haavisto** » 5 May 2002 11:20 am

The 6-string lap steel with two P/us is an Asher , a great instrument !

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Olli Haavisto
Polar steeler
Finland

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 5 May 2002 2:54 pm

Here it is: http://www.guitartraditions.com/asherguitar.html [This message was edited by Pete Burak on 05 May 2002 at 03:57 PM.]

Jerry Gleason · Post by **Jerry Gleason** » 6 May 2002 9:26 am

Here's a photo I shot of the duo during Thursday night's performance in Eugene. The image quality is not great, since the stage lighting was barely above candlelight level.

Kevin Macneil Brown · Post by **Kevin Macneil Brown** » 6 May 2002 10:38 am

Excellent Photograph, Jerry. Seems to me that it captures some of the interplay between those two monster musicians, the interplay that makes the Frisell CDs BLUES DREAM and GOOD DOG HAPPY MAN so great to listen to over and over again.
I find Greg Leisz inspirational in the way he plays in and around various steel traditions, all the while letting his own 'thing' come through loud and clear; a breath of sonic fresh air...

Kevin Post · Post by **Kevin Post** » 16 May 2002 5:34 pm

Bill Frisell must be a Dobro fan. I saw him in Nashville with Douglas a few years ago. He seemed to be legitimately in awe.

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 16 May 2002 9:19 pm

Bill is a huge fan of anything played with a steel (as long as it is played well). He is a great guy, and wonderful to play with (he played on my CD and it was a magical experience).

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www.tyacktunes.com

Darvin Willhoite · Post by **Darvin Willhoite** » 17 May 2002 8:38 am

This is neat, that a monster Jazz guitarist like Bill Frisell is a steel / dobro fan. I read an interview with Pat Metheny a while back, and he said he wanted to do an album with Bill Frisell. Evidently Bill is held in high esteem even among other monster Jazz guitarists.

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Darvin Willhoite
Riva Ridge Recording

Sage · Post by **Sage** » 17 May 2002 11:46 am

Dan, your track with Bill Frisell is very beautiful- my favorite on your album.
Jerry Douglas included a song by Bill Frisell on his new album. It is the title cut, Lookout for Hope. I think that Bill will shape the music of this new century more than most people realize.