Bill Frisell
Photo: Schorle, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Guitarists · b. 1951

Bill Frisell

American jazz guitarist

Born
18 March 1951
Baltimore
Country
United States
Active
1982–
Record labels
ECM Records, Savoy Records, EMI
Discography
63 albums

Biography

Bill Frisell is a jazz musician who plays guitar and electric guitar. Bill Frisell was born on 18 March 1951 in Baltimore. The music is usually filed under jazz, post-bop and progressive jazz. Record labels: ECM Records, Savoy Records and EMI. The discography here lists 63 albums, from “In Line” (1983) to “In My Dreams” (2026).

William Richard Frisell ( frih-ZEL; born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist. He first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts, notably as a participant in the Downtown Scene in New York City, where he formed a long working relationship with composer and saxophonist John Zorn. He was also a longtime member of veteran drummer Paul Motian's groups from the early 1980s until Motian's death in 2011. Since the late 1990s, Frisell's output as a bandleader has also integrated prominent elements of folk, country, rock 'n' roll, and Americana. He holds six Grammy nominations and one win.

Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Discography

Studio and live albums

In Line 1983 · ECM Records Rambler 1985 · ECM Records Smash & Scatteration 1985 · Minor Music Before We Were Born 1989 · Elektra Musician Is That You? 1990 · Elektra Have a Little Faith 1993 · Elektra Nonesuch This Land 1994 · Nonesuch American Blood Safety in Numbers 1995 · veraBra Records
Deep Dead Blue: Live 25 June 95 1995 · Live
Go West: Music for the Films of Buster Keaton 1995 · Nonesuch Live 1995 · Live · Hannibal The High Sign / One Week: Music for the Films of Buster Keaton 1995 · Nonesuch Quartet 1996 · Nonesuch Nashville 1997 · Nonesuch Gone, Just Like a Train 1998 · Nonesuch Good Dog, Happy Man 1999 · Nonesuch Ghost Town 2000 · Nonesuch
Acceptance 2001 · Live
Bill Frisell with Dave Holland and Elvin Jones 2001 · Nonesuch Blues Dream 2001 · Nonesuch The Willies 2002 · Nonesuch
Petra Haden and Bill Frisell 2003
The Intercontinentals 2003 · Nonesuch Unspeakable 2004 · Nonesuch East/West 2005 · Live · Nonesuch Further East / Further West 2005 · Live · Nonesuch RICHTER 858 2005 Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian 2006 · Nonesuch All Hat 2008 · EmArcy Disfarmer 2008 · Nonesuch History, Mystery 2008 · Nonesuch Jazz Standard New York City, NY May 1st, 2004 Set 3 2009 · Live Live at The Barbican, London, UK, November 15, 2005 2009 · Live Beautiful Dreamers 2010 · Savoy Jazz Live in Budapest, Hungary, 3/29/03 2010 · Live Live in Tokyo, Japan, 07/21/00 2010 · Live · Tone Field Productions Sign of Life 2010 · Savoy Jazz All We Are Saying… 2011 · Savoy Jazz Live in Seattle, WA, 08/06/11 Set 2 2011 · Live
Lágrimas mexicanas 2011
Live In Portland, OR 2012 · Live · [no label] Solos - The Jazz Sessions 2012 · Original Spin Music Big Sur 2013 · OKeh Silent Comedy 2013 · Tzadik Guitar in the Space Age! 2014 · OKeh Live in Austin, TX, 03/08/15 2015 · Live · Tone Field Productions Live in California 04/11/2010 - 04/13/2010 2015 · Live · Tone Field Productions When You Wish Upon a Star 2016 · OKeh Small Town 2017 · Live · ECM Records
Live at Jazz Middelheim 2018 · Live
Music IS 2018 · OKeh Sign Of Life: Music For 858 Quartet 2018 · Savoy Jazz Epistrophy 2019 · Live · ECM Records Harmony 2019 · Blue Note Valentine 2020 · Blue Note
Strata 2021
Four 2022 · Blue Note Breaking the Shell 2024 · Red Hook Records Orchestras 2024 · Live · Blue Note It Happened Again 2025 · Arkadia Records Sound & Fury 2025 · Sunnyside
For All Your Flowers 2026
In My Dreams 2026 · Live · UMG Recordings, Inc.

Also plays on

Albums where Bill Frisell is credited as a sideman

1978 Good Buddies — Michel Herr, Bill Frisell, Vinton Johnson & Kermit Driscoll guitar
1979 Fluid Rustle — Eberhard Weber guitar
1981 Okno — Emil Viklický, Bill Frisell, Kermit Driscoll, Vinton Johnson electric guitar
1982 Paths, Prints — Jan Garbarek, Bill Frisell, Eberhard Weber & Jon Christensen guitar
1982 Later That Evening — Eberhard Weber guitar
1982 A Molde Concert — Arild Andersen, John Taylor, Bill Frisell, Alphonse Mouzon guitar
1983 Comin' and Goin' — Jim Pepper guitar
1986 The Big Gundown: John Zorn Plays the Music of Ennio Morricone — John Zorn electric guitar
1986 Fragments — Paul Bley guitar
1986 Lyle Mays — Lyle Mays guitar
1987 Spillane — John Zorn guitar
1988 News for Lulu — John Zorn, George Lewis & Bill Frisell guitar
1988 Street Dreams — Lyle Mays guitar
1988 Monk in Motian — Paul Motian electric guitar
1989 On Broadway, Volume 1 — Paul Motian electric guitar
1990 Naked City — John Zorn guitar
1990 On Broadway, Volume 2 — Paul Motian electric guitar
1990 Bill Evans — Paul Motian electric guitar
1990 Torture Garden — Naked City guitar
1991 Chet Baker - Steve Houben — Chet Baker, Steve Houben guitar
1991 Another Hand — David Sanborn guitar
1991 Paul Motian On Broadway, Vol. III — Paul Motian electric guitar
1992 More News for Lulu — John Zorn, George Lewis & Bill Frisell guitar
1992 Grace Under Pressure — John Scofield electric guitar
1994 Summertime — John Scofield & Pat Metheny guitar
1995 Dialogues — Jim Hall guitar
1997 Filmworks VII: Cynical Hysterie Hour — John Zorn banjo, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
1997 Angel Song — Kenny Wheeler, Lee Konitz, Dave Holland, Bill Frisell electric guitar
1997 Down Home — Joey Baron, Arthur Blythe, Ron Carter, Bill Frisell guitar
1999 Orfeu — Ron Carter guitar

Listen on Spotify

Frequently asked questions

What instrument does Bill Frisell play?

Bill Frisell is known for playing guitar and electric guitar.

When and where was Bill Frisell born?

Bill Frisell was born 18 March 1951 in Baltimore.

What are Bill Frisell's best-known albums?

Albums in our database include In Line (1983), Rambler (1985), Smash & Scatteration (1985), Before We Were Born (1989) and Is That You? (1990).

External links

Data compiled from open sources; see the source links below. Spotted an error? Let us know.