Bill Frisell - Music IS (OKEH RECORDS / SONY MUSIC March 16, 2018)

Almost every day, Bill Frisell gets up in the morning, has some coffee, and writes music. At this point, there are piles and piles and piles of single pages of staff paper filled with his graceful script. “I don’t know where the melodies come from,” says Frisell. “I try not to judge anything and just let them be.”

Frisell’s mantra, or motto so to speak, is, “Music is Good” – a statement said to him by his dear friend and great banjo player Danny Barnes. “That is something that I can say is always true. It’s so perfect. Everything I need to know is that phrase, ‘Music is Good.’ I almost called the album that, but then I thought that might be too literal. It’s good to leave it open.”

Music IS – to be released March 16 on OKeh/Sony Music Masterworks – marks the first solo album from the master of his craft since the release of Ghost Town, released on Nonesuch 18 years ago.

“Playing solo is always a challenge,” Frisell says. “For me, music has all along been so much about playing with other people. Having a conversation. Call and response. Playing all by myself is a trip. I really have to change the way I think. In preparation for this recording I played for a week at The Stone in New York. Each night I attempted new music that I’d never played before. I was purposely trying to keep myself a little off balance. Uncomfortable. Unsure. I didn’t want to fall back on things that I knew were safe. My hope was to continue this process right on into the studio. I didn’t want to have things be all planned out beforehand.”

Watch Frisell jam out on his new, alternate version of “Rambler” below. Click here to receive “Rambler” as an instant download when you preorder the album.