''Unspeakable'' is a 2004 album by American jazz guitarist

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 ...

, his 22nd album overall and his 17th to be released on the Elektra Nonesuch label.

Background

After several albums emphasizing country, folk and blues music, ''Unspeakable'' represented a stylistic shift by exploring R&B/funk rhythm and extensive sampling from obscure vinyl records. The album features performances by Frisell,

Hal Willner Hal Willner (April 6, 1956 – April 7, 2020) was an American music producer working in recording, films, television, and live events. He was best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical sty ...

on sampler and turntables, bassist

Tony Scherr Tony Scherr is an American jazz and folk rock bassist, guitarist, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Biography Scherr was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and is a graduate of the Hammonasset School. He played with Woody Herman as a teenag ...

, drummer

Kenny Wollesen Kenny Wollesen (born 1966) is an American drummer and percussionist. Wollesen has recorded and toured with Tom Waits, Sean Lennon, Ron Sexsmith, Bill Frisell, Norah Jones, John Lurie, Myra Melford, Steven Bernstein, and John Zorn. He is a fou ...

, and percussionist

Don Alias Charles "Don" Alias (December 25, 1939 in New York City – March 28, 2006 in New York City) was an American jazz percussionist. Alias was best known for playing congas and other hand drums. He was, however, a capable drum kit performer: for ...

. Scherr plays second guitar on one song, and on another the band is joined by keyboardist Adam Dorn. Several songs feature a

horn section A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the te ...

( Steven Bernstein, Briggan Krauss, and

Curtis Fowlkes Curtis Fowlkes (born March 19, 1950) is an American jazz trombonist and singer. He is a founding member of The Jazz Passengers. Career In 1987, Fowlkes started The Jazz Passengers with saxophonist Roy Nathanson. He has also been a member of ...

) and/or a small string section (

Jenny Scheinman Jenny Scheinman is a jazz violinist. She has produced several critically acclaimed solo albums, including ''12 Songs'', named one of the Top Ten Albums of 2005 by ''The New York Times''. She has played with Linda Perry, Norah Jones, Nels Cline ...

Eyvind Kang Eyvindur Y. Kang (born 23 June 1971) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. His primary instrument is viola, but has also performed on violin, tuba, keyboards and others. In addition to his solo work, Kang has worked extensively wit ...

, and

Hank Roberts Hank Roberts (born March 24, 1954, Terre Haute, Indiana) 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 N ...

Awards

''Unspeakable'' won the

Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality ...

in 2005.Nonesuch Records album info
accessed 12, September, 2008

Reception

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 Sean Westergaard awarded the album 4.5 stars, stating, "It's all quite accessible, but fans with delicate ears may be put off by some of the noisier moments on the album, like the keyboard sound on "Stringbean" or the guitar solo on "Old Sugar Bear." Other fans will be delighted to hear such a glorious din on a Bill Frisell record again. After so much of a similar thing, it's just great to hear Frisell being pushed in a new direction (and quite a fun one, at that). Recommended. ".Westergaard, S.
Allmusic Review
accessed June 21, 2011

Track listing

All compositions by Bill Frisell except as indicated. # "1968" – 4:35 # "White Fang" (Frisell, Willner) – 5:39 # "Sundust" (Willner) – 2:36 # "Del Close" (Frisell, Eric Liljestrand, Willner) – 5:03 # "Gregory C." (Frisell, Willner) – 5:38 # "Stringbean" (Frisell, Liljestrand, Willner) – 5:57 # "Hymn for Ginsberg" – 2:24 # "Alias" (Frisell, Liljestrand, Willner) – 7:56 # "Who Was That Girl?" – 4:50 # "D. Sharpe" – 4:10 # "Fields of Alfalfa" (Frisell, Bernstein, Liljestrand, Walter, Willner) – 3:38 # "Tony" (Frisell, Scherr, Wollesen) – 3:37 # "Old Sugar Bear" (G.A. Grant, Liljestrand, Willner) – 7:10 # "Goodbye Goodbye Goodbye" (Frisell, Teddy Lasry, Willner) – 8:58

Personnel

– guitars *

– turntables, samples *

– bass, guitar *

– drums *

– percussion * Steven Bernstein – trumpet *Briggan Krauss – baritone sax *

– trombone * Adam Dorn – synth *

– violin *

– viola *

– cello

References

{{Authority control 2004 albums Bill Frisell albums Albums produced by Hal Willner Nonesuch Records albums Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album