William Richard Frisell is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell 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 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 has six Grammy nominations, and one win.
Jim Black is an American jazz drummer who has performed with Tim Berne and Dave Douglas. He attended Berklee College of Music.
Hank Roberts is an American jazz cellist and vocalist. He plays the electric cello, and his style is a mixture of rock, jazz, avant-garde, folk, and classical influences. He emerged with the downtown New York City jazz scene of the 1980s and is associated with its post-modern tendencies.
Trevor Roy Dunn is an American composer, bass guitarist, and double bassist. He came to prominence in the 1990s with the experimental band Mr. Bungle. While performing with Mr. Bungle, Dunn would dress similar to the St. Pauli Girl. He has since worked in an array of musical styles, including with saxophonist/composer John Zorn, Secret Chiefs 3 and with his own avant-garde jazz/rock ensemble Trevor Dunn's Trio-Convulsant. He is also a member of the band Tomahawk.
Steven Bernstein is an American trumpeter, slide trumpeter, arranger/composer and bandleader from New York City. He is best known for his work in The Lounge Lizards, Sex Mob, Spanish Fly and the Millennial Territory Orchestra. Sex Mob's 2006 CD Sexotica was nominated for a Grammy.
Hans Wendl is a producer. He began his career in the music business with the record label ECM Records in his hometown of Munich in the mid-1970s and was associated with the German label for twelve years before moving to the United States in 1986. He was also director of the Gramavision Records label for Rykodisc for three years during the mid-1990s.
Eyvindur Y. Kang is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. His primary instrument is viola, but has also performed on violin, tuba, keyboards and others.
Tony Scherr is an American jazz and folk rock bassist, guitarist, singer-songwriter, and record producer.
Vinicius Cantuária is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, guitarist, drummer, and percussionist. He is associated with bossa nova and Brazilian jazz.
Julian Lage is an American guitarist and composer.
Kenny Wollesen is an American drummer and percussionist.
Lee Townsend is an American independent music producer, curator, artist manager and co-owner of Songtone, specializing in recordings of singer-songwriters, contemporary composers, improvising musicians, and cross-cultural musical collaborations. He is also a psychotherapist in private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Intercontinentals is the 16th album by Bill Frisell to be released on the Elektra Nonesuch label. It was released in 2003 and features performances by Frisell, Sidiki Camara, Vinicius Cantuaria, Christos Govetas, Greg Leisz and Jenny Scheinman.
Unspeakable is a 2004 album by American jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, his 22nd album overall and his 17th to be released on the Elektra Nonesuch label.
Richter 858 is a 2005 studio album by American jazz guitarist Bill Frisell consisting of improvised music inspired by the paintings of German artist Gerhard Richter.
Scott Amendola is an American drummer from the San Francisco Bay Area. His styles include jazz, blues, groove, and rock.
Allison Miller is an American, New York City-based drummer, composer, and teacher.
Todd Sickafoose is an American jazz and rock musician, composer, and producer/engineer from San Francisco, California.
David Breskin is an American writer, poet, and record producer. He has written nine books, including collaborations with the visual artists Gerhard Richter and Ed Ruscha. Beginning in the early 1980s, he produced albums by musicians including John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Ronald Shannon Jackson and Vernon Reid. In more recent years, he has worked with Nels Cline, Mary Halvorson, Kris Davis, Dan Weiss, Ingrid Laubrock, and Craig Taborn, among others.
Sign of Life: Music for 858 Quartet is an album by Bill Frisell which was released on the Savoy label in 2011. The album features the same lineup that played on Frisell's 2005 album, Richter 858.
