Review: Bill Frisell's jazz quartet emphasizes interplay

'œFour,'ť Bill Frisell (Blue Note)

Guitarist Bill Frisell's new jazz quartet album is like a stimulating conversation among friends who swap quick quips and insights, the shifts in mood frequent and unpredictable. The ensemble effort emphasizes inventive interplay and the collective colors created, rather than solos or flashy riffs.

As longtime fans know, Frisell can play anything while sounding like no one else. On 'œFour'ť he often plays a supporting role, generously sharing the spotlight with Gerald Clayton on piano, Johnathan Blake on drums, and Gregory Tardy on tenor sax, clarinet and bass clarinet. There's no bass, and the album's foundation instead is simultaneous improvisation as the musicians build on Frisell's skeletal compositions and react to each other measure by measure.

A delightful variety results. Quirky rhythms and intervals make the happy 'œHoliday'ť jittery and skittery, and 'œBlues from Before'ť is equally funny and fun, while 'œAlways'ť improbably bridges genres as a country fugue. 'œClaude Utley'ť and 'œWise Woman'ť sound neoclassical, and sepia tones distinguish the lyrical 'œDear Old Friend (For Alan Woodard).'ť

The closing 'œDog on a Roof'ť unfolds slowly, free of a beat for the first 2ˆ½ minutes. The band then settles into a blues and swirls around a four-note figure, immersed in one final collaborative triumph.

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