''Good Dog, Happy Man'' is the 11th album by

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) 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 ...

to be released on the Elektra Nonesuch label. It was released in 1999 and features performances by Frisell, steel guitarist

Greg Leisz Gregory Brian Leisz ( ; born September 18, 1949) is an American musician. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. Biography Leisz grew up in the garage band cultu ...

, keyboardist

Wayne Horvitz Wayne Horvitz (born 1955) is an American composer, keyboardist and record producer. He came to prominence in the Downtown scene of 1980s and '90s New York City, where he met his future wife, the singer, songwriter and pianist Robin Holcomb. He ...

, bassist

Viktor Krauss Viktor Krauss is an American musician who plays acoustic and electric bass. He has released solo albums and has worked as a sideman with many musicians, including his sister, singer and fiddler Alison Krauss. Music career Krauss was born to Fre ...

and drummer

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Dow ...

with a guest appearance by Ry Cooder on slide guitar.Nonesuch Records album info
accessed 12 September 2008.

Reception

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growt ...

'' called the album "the latest, logical extension in the saga of Frisell’s maturing voice." and summarized; "Triads galore, sweet tunes, organic funkiness, and a general laconic grace keep the music rooted, while also searching. What else could we ask for? Good Dog, Happy Man is a recording full of gentle things, bolstered by innate smarts and rugged musicality.Woodard, Jose
JazzTimes
accessed October 6, 2019 The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

review by Richard S. Ginell awarded the album 4 stars, stating, "Again, Frisell often captures a loose, evolutionary jamming quality in these sessions, playing the country accents off of his jazz sensibilities. Unlike its predecessor, though, you can't imagine this being recorded on a backwoods front porch, for there are some production tricks and distant-sounding electronic loops that give away its Burbank studio origins. Purists on either side of the jazz/country divide are hereby warned to back off so that the rest of us can enjoy this".Ginell, R.
Allmusic Review
accessed June 20, 2011

Track listing

All compositions by Bill Frisell except as indicated. # "Rain, Rain" – 2:45 # "Roscoe" – 3:43 # "Big Shoe" – 3:49 # "My Buffalo Girl" – 8:50 # " Shenandoah" – for Johnny Smith (Traditional) – 6:09 # "Cadillac 1959" – 6:16 # "The Pioneers" – 5:16 # "Cold, Cold Ground" – 9:01 # "That Was Then" – 5:29 # "Monroe" – 4:19 # "Good Dog, Happy Man" – 2:33 # "Poem For Eva" – 3:41

Personnel

– electric and acoustic guitars, loops and music boxes *

– pedal steel, Dobro, lap steel, Weissenborn, National steel guitar and mandolin *

– organ, piano, samples *

– bass *

– drums and percussion * Ry Cooder (5) – guitar

References

{{Authority control 1999 albums Bill Frisell albums Nonesuch Records albums