Frisell was born in Baltimore, Maryland, but spent most of his youth in the Denver, Colorado, area. He studied clarinet with Richard Joiner of the Denver Symphony Orchestra as a youth, graduated from Denver East High School, and went to the University of Northern Colorado to study music.
His original guitar teacher in the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area was Dale Bruning, with whom Frisell released the 2000 duo album Reunion. After graduating from Northern Colorado, where he studied with Johnny Smith, Frisell went to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied with Jon Damian and Jim Hall.
Frisell's major break came when guitarist Pat Metheny was unable to make a recording session, and recommended Frisell to Paul Motian who was recording Psalm (1982) for ECM Records. Frisell became ECM's in-house guitar player, and worked on several albums, most notably Jan Garbarek's 1981 Paths, Prints. Frisell's first solo release was In Line featured solo guitar and duets with bassist Arild Andersen.
Frisell's first group to receive much acclaim was a quartet with Kermit Driscoll on bass, Joey Baron on drums, and Hank Roberts on cello (later slimmed down to a trio when Roberts left). Many other albums with larger ensembles were recorded with this group as the core.
In the 1980s Frisell lived in New York City and was an active participant in the city's music scene. He forged an early partnership with John Zorn—including as a member of quick-change band Naked City—and performed or recorded with many others. He also became known for his work in drummer Paul Motian's trio, along with saxophonist Joe Lovano.
In 1988 Frisell left New York City and moved to Seattle, Washington. In the early 1990s Frisell made two of his best-reviewed albums: first, Have a Little Faith, an ambitious survey of Americana of all stripes, from Charles Ives and Aaron Copland (the entirety of Billy the Kid) to John Hiatt (the title song), Bob Dylan ("Just Like a Woman") and Madonna (a lengthy, psychedelic rock-tinged version of "Live to Tell"); and second, This Land, a complementary set of originals. During this time he performed with many musicians, including the more up and coming, such as Douglas September on album 10 Bulls. He also branched out by performing soundtracks to silent films of Buster Keaton with his trio, and contributed to Ryuichi Sakamoto's album Heartbeat.
In the mid-1990s, Frisell disbanded his trio. He continued the trend marked by Have a Little Faith by more explicitly incorporating elements of bluegrass and country music into his music. His friendship with Gary Larson led him to provide music for the TV version of The Far Side (released on the album Quartet along with music written for Keaton's Convict 13). Since 2000, Frisell has lived on Bainbridge Island, Washington, near Seattle.
Several of Frisell's songs, including his recording of "Over the Rainbow" and "Coffaro's Theme", were featured in the movie Finding Forrester (2000).
In 1999, Frisell was commissioned by the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota to compose Blues Dream, which he premiered on November 15, 1999. He later recorded the work for a 2001 release on Nonesuch.
Also in 1999, he released The Sweetest Punch which featured a seven-piece jazz ensemble reworking the tunes written and recorded by Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach on Painted from Memory.
Between 2003 and 2005 Frisell acted as musical director for Century of Song, a series of concerts at the German arts festival RuhrTriennale (produced by Lee Townsend). Frisell invited artists including Rickie Lee Jones, Elvis Costello, Suzanne Vega, Arto Lindsay, Loudon Wainwright III, Vic Chesnutt, Van Dyke Parks, Buddy Miller, Ron Sexsmith and Chip Taylor to perform their favorite songs in new arrangements.
In 2003, Frisell's The Intercontinentals was nominated for a Grammy award; he won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album for his album Unspeakable. His 2008 album, History, Mystery was nominated for a 2009 Grammy award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group. Frisell was also a judge for the 6th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.
Frisell has united with Matt Chamberlain, Tucker Martine, and Lee Townsend in the Floratone band, and they have released an album on Blue Note (2007), featuring guest performance of Viktor Krauss, Ron Miles, Eyvind Kang.
In 2008, Frisell performed as a featured guest on Earth's album The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull.
In 2009, Frisell featured in a duet rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" with singer-songwriter, Sam Shrieve. The recording was released on Shrieve's debut album Bittersweet Lullabies.
In 2010, Frisell started working with the Savoy Jazz label and released Beautiful Dreamers in August 2010, then a second release of Sign of Life in April 2011. Also, on January 25, 2011, Bill Frisell and Vinicius Cantuária released Lágrimas Mexicanas on the E1 label.
In June, 2011, Frisell, Lee Townsend, and their frequent collaborator, Vinicius Cantuaria, participated in TEDx GoldenGateED's program, "Teaching Compassion" in Oakland, California. Frisell and Cantuaria performed separately, and Townsend assisted with technical aspects of the event.
In September 2011, Frisell released All We Are Saying, a full-length offering of his interpretations of John Lennon's music. Frisell's quintet includes violinist Jenny Scheinman, pedal steel and acoustic guitarist Greg Leisz, bassist Tony Scherr, and drummer Kenny Wollesen.
Floaty
Bill Frisell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Floats away
On the ground
He comes back down
She floats
Floats away
On the ground
They float
Float away
On the ground
They come back down
We float
Float away
On the ground
We come back down
That's not as big as
What's flown around here
The lyrics to Bill Frisell's song Floaty can be interpreted in a number of ways, with many possible meanings arising from the sparse and repetitive language used. At its simplest, the song seems to be describing the experience of floating, or perhaps daydreaming or losing oneself in thought. The repeated use of the word "float" suggests a sense of weightlessness, and the fact that the subjects of the song (he, she, they, we) all come back down to earth could represent a return to reality or the end of the daydream. Another possible interpretation is that the floating represents a kind of escape from the world, with the repeated cycles of floating and coming back down representing a cycle of seeking refuge from reality and then returning to it.
The final line of the song, "That's not as big as what's flown around here," adds a note of ambiguity and mystery to the lyrics. It could be read as a kind of dismissive statement, as if the floating experiences described earlier are nothing compared to something else that has happened in the same location. Alternatively, the line could be read as a statement of wonder or awe, with the singer suggesting that even the floating experiences they have had don't compare to something else that has happened in this particular place. The use of the word "flown" adds to the sense of mystery, suggesting something ethereal and fleeting.
Line by Line Meaning
He floats
He experiences a sensation of floating
Floats away
The sensation of floating causes him to drift away
On the ground
Maintaining contact with the physical realm
He comes back down
The sensation of floating fades and he returns to the physical realm
She floats
She experiences a sensation of floating
Floats away
The sensation of floating causes her to drift away
On the ground
Maintaining contact with the physical realm
She comes back down
The sensation of floating fades and she returns to the physical realm
They float
They experience a sensation of floating
Float away
The sensation of floating causes them to drift away
On the ground
Maintaining contact with the physical realm
They come back down
The sensation of floating fades and they return to the physical realm
We float
We experience a sensation of floating
Float away
The sensation of floating causes us to drift away
On the ground
Maintaining contact with the physical realm
We come back down
The sensation of floating fades and we return to the physical realm
That's not as big as
That is not significant compared to
What's flown around here
The other significant occurrences that have taken place here
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: David Grohl
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind