# Live review: Bill Frisell Trio – They consistently and strikingly play as one, voices intertwined, as if sharing a single thought at Tbilisi Jazz festival 2024: Video, Photos

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2024/05/28/live-review-bill-frisell-trio-they-consistently-and-strikingly-play-as-one-voices-intertwined-as-if-sharing-a-single-thought-at-tbilisi-jazz-festival-2024-video-photos/
- Published: 2024-05-28T00:06:53+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**The Tbilisi Jazz Festival is the most significant and the most luxurious in the
Caucasus. This year it was held on May 22 – 24, 2024, in the center of Tbilisi, 
on the stage of the Rustaveli Academic Theater, in a historical and beautiful hall.**

In general, as every year, the Tbilisi Jazz Festival emphasizes and stands out with
the fireworks of jazz legends. This year was no exception. Bill Frisell – Thomas
Morgan, Rudy Royston Trio, Joey Calderazzo – John Patitucci – Dave Weckle Trio and
Stacey Kent – Jim Tomlinson – Art Hirahara Trio.

In addition, the Czech Embassy in Georgia presented the Herak & Bulatkin Jazz Quartet
from the Czech Republic as the opening act of the festival.

We will have 3 publications about each of them separately from Tbilisi Jazz Festival
2024. This time, let’s start with the miracles of the first day։ Bill Frisell – 
Thomas Morgan, Rudy Royston Trio!!!

![Հնարավոր է սա 3 մարդ, սաքսոֆոն and կլառնետ նկարն է](https://scontent.fevn6-1.fna.
fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/441548610_844206444411229_1271376348861968975_n.jpg?_nc_cat
=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=8NePdDCnHI8Q7kNvgH9fM3S&_nc_ht=scontent.fevn6-
1.fna&oh=00_AYAYQ6MrB4AE5I4lZytI6IEatrKt_gfD4qYyrU06Ja74_A&oe=66615314)

Bill Frisell’s this trio featuring bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Rudy Royston
is musically nimble enough to go anywhere with Frisell in the most spontaneous manner.

They have a command of the sizable ouevre of Frisell compositions, as well as the
popular, folk and standard songs that Bill enjoys interpreting on an ongoing basis.

The trio’s method is interactive, conversational and ready to groove at any moment,
yielding fresh and surprising performances at every stop along the way.

They consistently and strikingly play as one, voices intertwined, completing phrases
as if sharing a single thought … Even overdubs are so perfect that everything feels
utterly organic… the performances represent jazz playing at its most intelectual
sublime.

![Հնարավոր է սա 1 անձ and տեքստ նկարն է](https://scontent.fevn6-2.fna.fbcdn.net/
v/t39.30808-6/445772144_844216161076924_4446362584169260007_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&ccb
=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=LmLdDyqyVi8Q7kNvgGiYXQD&_nc_ht=scontent.fevn6-2.fna&
oh=00_AYAS6wOXnQwbAb0uHg_bgU6bopBCkC3B7dIQHTYmc5_Pjg&oe=666177F8)

Bill Frisell is clearly in his comfort zone with his long-time trio. The trio is
mainly playing familiar material from the Frisell songbook. His lush canvasses gorgeously
frame Frisell’s trademark tone, natural melodicism, and unhurried phrasing. Yet,
there’s an element here that the listener may otherwise be unaware of. The trio 
was given free rein. They didn’t need to read the music, so they were improvising,
and the orchestras were reacting to and embellishing those moves. These projects
require the utmost discipline from both ensembles, yet much of what you’ll hear 
is spontaneous.

Frisell’s chiming guitar enters with Royston and Morgan, adding even a more profound
swirling quality to the sonics. Lush Life, performed by Frisell in vocal and instrumental
contexts, is the perfect example of give and take between the trio and the orchestra
in this setting.

Doom, by Ron Carter, is recognizable as “Mood” off the Miles Davis Second Great 
Quintet album E.S.P. Every tune here would be a candidate for a film score. Frisell’s
crystalline sound and gradually framing it to strengthen its impact. Royston’s signature
cymbal flourishes indeed connote gently falling, sun shower-like raindrops.

![Հնարավոր է սա 3 մարդ, սաքսոֆոն and տեքստ, որում ասվում է «VISA VISA I 10-5 IZF
lef ide» նկարն է](https://scontent.fevn6-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/444487304_844208634411010_4535352851861484190_n.
jpg?_nc_cat=109&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=m13ImNc1JhcQ7kNvgFyaxwF&_nc_ht=scontent.
fevn6-2.fna&oh=00_AYAWOA2MOxVsaNrguJhaew-G6L8VyKttpKkrBXou8nNnng&oe=66616DFD)

Ringing guitar notes reverberate and echo with more authority as the trio extends
them. The blending sounds are captivating, and Frisell’s trio mates also seem more
at the forefront. Doom is the epitome of such, though it retains its deep noir quality
in both. Opener Lookout for Hope brims with energy, as does Levees. Strange Meeting
begins pensively but builds into highly suspense-filled passages. Royston, as it’s
often been said, is much more than simply a timekeeper; he’s often another melodic
voice.

![Հնարավոր է սա 1 անձ and ծնծղա նկարն է](https://scontent.fevn6-6.fna.fbcdn.net/
v/t39.30808-6/445778321_844216137743593_8151654439998841235_n.jpg?_nc_cat=101&ccb
=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=oU1zbabaxoYQ7kNvgGX6FVX&_nc_ht=scontent.fevn6-6.fna&
oh=00_AYBTAlsBP2amZIs-hAgvBeocdOqwmW2z1Rgd0QLNZZ02wQ&oe=66616861)

Every so often, Frisell puts his trademark spin on the blues as he does here on 
Electricity and, to some extent, in Monica Jane, the ensemble ebbing and swelling
seemingly to each well-placed note of tightly woven riffs. He ends his shows with
We Shall Overcome, this version being wildly exultant. It’s a glorious exclamation
point to a stunning concert.

Of course, we also went backstage, thanked the musicians for the wonderful concert,
and took the opportunity to take selfies with each of them.

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