Bill Frisell

小简介
在一本和ECM这个唱片品牌有关的出版品当中谈论当代爵士吉他手，其实是件很有趣的事，怎么说呢？一、二十年来，表现最好的几位吉他手，几乎都和ECM有密不可分的关系，当今人气最旺的帕特马西尼（Pat Metheny）在ECM度过了他音乐生涯的前十年；约翰埃布尔孔比（John Abercrombie）从七零年代一直为ECM录音到现在；洛夫唐纳（Ralph Towner）在ECM旗下出了将近二十张专辑；甚至几位风格特异的顶尖大师，像是泰迪亚瑞普多（Terje Pypdal）、吉斯蒙提（Egberto Gismonti）等人，也都是ECM的长期合作伙伴。
当然，还有比尔佛雷赛（Bill Frisell）。
大约一方面为了方便读者记忆，另一方面也为了有事可作，美国的爵士评论很喜欢为乐手创造头衔，这几年来，谈到当代爵士吉他手，有所谓的「the big three」，讲的是帕特马西尼、约翰史考菲（John Scofield）和比尔佛雷赛，考虑这几位的作品成绩和独特风格，倒也有几分道理。
悠游于放克与咆勃爵士之间的史考菲、融合爵士搞得风生水起的马西尼也许找个机会再来好好讲，先来看看比尔佛雷赛。
这位吉他手一九五一年生于美国巴尔的摩，却在丹佛市长大，从小演奏黑管，少年时期从收音机里听到当时流行的灵魂乐手詹姆士布朗（James Brown）、芝加哥蓝调乐手的歌曲，开始弹起吉他。高中的时候，佛雷赛自行组团玩票演出，完的都是些灵魂乐、R&B风格的曲目，当年在高中玩音乐的同学们，有几位后来组成了放克名团土风火（Earth, Wind and Fire）。但是年轻的佛雷赛的口味却在这段时间受到冲击而转向，他听到了爵士吉他大师威斯蒙哥马利（Wes Montgomery）的音乐，大受震慑之余，音乐方向转到了爵士乐这一边。
佛雷赛可以说是正宗科班出身的乐手，他念过北科罗拉多大学音乐系，也是波士顿百科理（Berklee）音乐学院的著名校友（说来好玩，佛雷赛的同学当中确实有不少名人，帕特马西尼跟他在百科理也有同窗之谊），甚至还特别投入他心仪的吉他大师吉姆霍尔（Jim Hall）门下学艺，霍尔那种肌理层次细腻的音乐美学，对佛雷赛这位高徒产生了相当重要的影响。佛雷赛接受访问时曾经说过：「我16、7岁时整天在听摇滚乐，所以后来有时听我弹吉他，会觉得像是采用吉姆豪尔式的和声手法，却把吉他调成吉米汉醉克斯(Jimi Hendrix)的音色。」
仔细听佛雷赛的音乐，会觉得他的情绪隐藏得极深，表面听起来，总是很美，很协调，像是这位吉他手一直以近乎完美的精确和品味在主题旋律与和声结构之间尽情追求即兴变化，但是他又经常给人一种「欲语还休」的印象，好像他要说的话，难得真正地放声直言，他的音乐有的时候满布悬疑，像一本根本就不告诉你凶手是谁的侦探小说。
这几年，帕特马西尼、贝斯名家查理海登（Charlie Haden）、鼓手金杰贝克（Ginger Baker）等人都尝试过结合乡村、摇滚、民谣与爵士乐风格，表现出海登称之为「Americano」的美国式复古风情，在九零年代末期受到听众相当的欢迎，然而，此一风格的音乐，佛雷赛早在八零年代就已经玩得出神入化。《Rambler》、《Lookout For Help》等作品，可说很早就为马西尼与海登的《密苏里天空下Beyond the Missouri Sky》专辑开风气之先。
尽管身为美国人，佛雷赛的音乐生涯正式开展却是在欧洲，70年代末期，他在比利时遇到ECM唱片的老板曼佛艾克（Manfred Eicher），开始在ECM旗下录音，推出了数张个人专辑，也出现在鼓手保罗莫逊（paul Motian）、挪威萨克斯风手杨葛柏瑞克（Jan Garbarek）等人的专辑之中。佛雷赛的第一张个人专辑是《In Line》，在这张一半独奏，一半与贝斯手亚历安德森（Arild Andersen）二重奏的唱片里，佛雷赛演奏得非常与众不同，和所有吉他手都不一样，标题曲里面，佛雷赛一个人以重复录音的方式，用原音吉他在极为轻描淡写的气氛当中，创造出层次丰富细致的音乐，衬底的反复节奏勾勒出简单的结构轮廓，主题乐句则是一波波地浮上表层，佛雷赛别出心裁的语法让每一个段落的出现都给人难以预测的惊喜，但是句子与句子之间的联系又显得合情合理，乐曲给人一种单纯淡泊的感觉，但是音乐当中的细致精巧，却是令人目不暇给，值得再三咀嚼。
但佛雷赛并不是纯然甜美的，从来不是。《Lookout For Hope》专辑中，好几首歌曲，都是乍听之下一派恬淡悠远，但是内在却隐约有一丝逐渐升高的不安，有的时候，在和声、伴奏没有激烈变化的状况下，欣赏佛雷赛怎么样在结构相同的反复乐句当中，利用节奏、音色的一点点细微差别，堆栈出不同的情感，实在是颇为有趣的聆听经验。
八零年代出道之后，二十多年来，佛雷赛的作品众多，也出现在各种录音场合担任伴奏，摇滚乐手埃尔维斯卡斯特罗（Elvis Castello）、玛丽安费兹佛（Marianne Faithful）、前卫萨克斯风手约翰佐恩（John Zorn）、钢琴家保罗布雷（Paul Bley）、爵士黑管大师唐拜伦（Don Byron）、贝斯手马克琼森（Marc Johnson）等人的作品中都有佛雷赛的贡献，宽广的诠释风格，证明了他的弹性。佛雷赛的作品，结合了乡村、摇滚与爵士乐等多种风格，到今天，乐迷回顾比尔佛雷赛的音乐作品，将会发现，这位听来恬淡冷静的乐手，这些年来，确实有不凡的音乐成就。
The defining characteristic of any given jazz musician is frequently his sound. The more control a player has over the nature of that sound, the more likely he is to project a distinctive musical personality. For example, a saxophonist has virtually unlimited physical control of the sound that comes through his horn, and therefore a wide range of tonal expression at his command — which partially explains the disproportionate number of saxophonists in the pantheon of great jazz musicians. On the other hand, few electric guitarists inhabit that realm, in part because the typical jazz guitar sound differs little from player to player. In general, guitarists do not have the same degree of physical control. Without the use of signal processing — which jazz purists shun — theyre mostly stuck with the generic sound that comes out of their amp. Hence, guitarists have historically tended to sound more or less the same.
Bill Frisell is a notable exception. Among jazz guitarists, Frisell is unique in his exploitation of variable timbre. Frisells sound swells and breathes like a saxophonists (interestingly, Frisell played clarinet as a child). In many ways his sound is reminiscent of a pedal steel guitar. And although his work is steeped in jazz, Frisell is a man of catholic tastes. His music includes characteristics of rock, country, and bluegrass, among various other styles. Such liberality explains his willingness to expand his tonal palette beyond that of the typical jazz guitarist. Where so many conventional jazz guitarists define themselves by how many notes they can play, Frisell has carved a niche by virtue of his sound. His ability as an original, lyrical player of melody combines with a unique (if much imitated) sound to make him one of the most singular musicians of his generation.
Born in Baltimore, Frisell grew up in Denver, CO. He began playing the clarinet in the fourth grade and took up guitar a few years later for his personal amusement. He continued with the clarinet, playing in school concert and marching bands. Frisell briefly considered playing classical clarinet professionally. He played guitar in rock and R&B bands as a teenager (high school classmates included Philip Bailey, Andrew Woolfork, and Larry Dunn, future members of the funk group Earth, Wind & Fire). He discovered jazz in the music of Wes Montgomery and began to study the music. Dale Bruning, a Denver-based guitarist and educator, fed his fascination with jazz.
Frisell decided to make guitar his primary instrument. After briefly attending the University of Northern Colorado, he moved to Boston in 1971 to attend the Berklee School of Music. There he studied with Michael Gibbs and John Damian. While at Berklee, Frisell connected with other like-minded players (Pat Metheny was a classmate). He also studied with Jim Hall, who became an important influence, especially in terms of harmony. In the mid-70s, Frisell began moving away from pure bebop and began fusing jazz with his other musical interests. At about this time he began developing his atmospheric, quasi-mictrotonal style. He discovered that, by using a guitar with a flexible neck, he could manipulate the instruments intonation. A combination of experimental techniques and signal processors like delay and reverb gave Frisell a sound unlike any other guitarist.
In the late 70s, he traveled to Belgium. There he met Manfred Eicher, the founder of ECM Records. Beginning in the early 80s, Frisell recorded prolifically for the label, as leader and sideman with such musicians as Paul Motian and Jan Garbarek. He continued with the label throughout the decade, earning a reputation as ECMs house guitarist. Frisell became much acclaimed by critics for his sophisticated yet accessible work. Frisell moved to New York in the 80s, where he worked with many of the most creative musicians active on the citys downtown jazz scene.
In the 80s and 90s, he would record and perform with a huge variety of artists, not all of them jazz musicians. Collaborators would include rock and pop musicians (drummer Ginger Baker, singers Marianne Faithfull and Elvis Costello), experimental jazz musicians (saxophonist/composers John Zorn and Tim Berne), and at least one classical composer (Gavin Bryars). Frisell composed soundtracks for the silent films of Buster Keaton. His 1996 album Quartet won the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis, the German equivalent of the Grammy. Frisell became an annual winner of various magazine polls for his solo work and recordings.
By the end of the 90s, Frisell was one of the most well-known jazz musicians in the world, with an audience and an aesthetic that transcended the boundaries of any given style. It should be mentioned that, while Frisell is best known for his somewhat ambient guitar technique, he is a swinging, harmonically fluent jazz player when the occasion warrants. Frisell moved to Seattle, WA, in 1989 and stayed active as the 21st century opened, releasing Ghost Town in 2000, followed by a set with Dave Holland and Elvin Jones in 2001. Blues Dream also appeared that same year, followed by The Willies in 2002. East/West and Richter 858 were both released in 2005, and a set with Ron Carter and Paul Motian in 2006.