Music, photography mix in jazz musician's show
Bill Frisell's music isn't always easy to categorize.
The 56-year-old guitarist, known for his wide range and originality, won a 2005 Grammy Award for his contemporary jazz album, "Unspeakable." That makes him a jazz musician to most people, but his definition of jazz doesn't always jibe with the music industry's.
"(My music) is jazz. But to me, jazz is a place where anything is possible. There don't have to be rules about what can and can't be," he said. "In the last 20 years, when you say 'jazz,' it's turned into more of a style. I don't think of it as a style but a process of thinking about the music. I guess it gets back to just calling it plain music. It's music where anything is possible and all things can exist together."
In a way, that describes his show tonight at the College of DuPage's McAninch Arts Center, "Bill Frisell's Disfarmer Project."
Music, photography, storytelling and improvisation all coexist in this show, which showcases the work of early 20th century Americana photographer Mike Disfarmer.
Accompanied by top-talent musicians -- violinist Jenny Scheinman and steel guitarist Greg Leisz -- Frisell's original score accompanies two screens displaying Disfarmer's powerful, black and white portraits of people who lived in rural Arkansas in the early 1900s. Each screen divides into parts, and the images move to the music.
Frisell has composed music for film, photos and cartoons before, during the course of his impressive 30-year career. But he found himself entranced by these photos and the man who took them.
"It's not just the photos themselves. There's this whole other thing that starts happening with the man himself. There's such a bizarre story around his life. That gave me a lot to go by," Frisell said.
Disfarmer was born Mike Meyers in rural Arkansas in 1884. Always an outcast, he changed his name to Disfarmer because he didn't want to be associated with farmers, even though that was just about everyone around him.
To research his life and draw inspiration for the musical "project," Frisell drove to Arkansas's mountainous Herber Springs valley and met with a few people who remembered Disfarmer. Frisell listened to hours of stories on this reclusive man who acted strangely yet managed to convince people to pose for pictures.
"The people were pretty much afraid of him," Frisell said. "He wore black all the time and didn't have any friends. He'd walk around in the middle of the night and scare little kids and stuff. He died alone and didn't get any recognition for what he did at all."
Today, his photos are hailed by art critics as "spectacularly profound." The Village Voice labeled him "a visual genius."
After returning home to Seattle, Frisell sat down with his guitar and Disfarmer's photos and composed the show's music.
"It's total fantasy on my part, but I tried to think of what was going on in Disfarmer's mind. And then you think of the time period -- the '30s, '40s, '50s," Frisell said.
When asked whether the show was sad, artistic or inspirational, Frisell struggled to answer. That's because he improvises as he plays.
"The music will always be in a state of development. I didn't just write the piece then and do the piece the same way every time. I didn't want it to be a set show. The way we play together, there's improvisation in it. Right now, I'm trying to write more things," he said.
Bill Frisell's Disfarmer Project
Where: The McAninch Arts Center at the College of DuPage, 426 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn
When:8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26
Tickets: $30 for adults, $20 for students and children under the age of 17, and $28 for seniors.
Info: (630) 942-4000 or www.AtTheMAC.org