Seven years ago I had the delight of witnessing the Bill Frisell 858 Quartet perform eight works of synchronicity and abrasive, discordant marvel, one for each of German painter Gerhard Richter’s eight abstract works. The paintings are ugly and barely agree with themselves, yet they hold you and suspend your disbelief until they permanently reverse your position to praising the beauty and pastoral dissonance in each.

Composer and Jazz guitarist Bill Frisell was asked to create music to accompany the pieces, and he did so faithfully, molding a score for still images that captures the kinetic energy, the strained pull of pigments against each other, and the metallic dis-likability that fuses gently into a pleasing picture. The quartet musicians are Bill Frisell on guitar, Eyvind Kang (a personal favorite) on viola, Jenny Scheinman on violin, and Hank Roberts on cello.

Listen, view, and enjoy.

858-1

858-2

858-3

858-4

858-5

858-6

858-7

858-8

Other posts you may be interested in:

1. Ludvig Van Beethoven, Op. 135 String Quartet Everyone has an opinion about Beethoven, and it is...
2. Maurice Ravel, Piano Trio in A-minor Op. 120 Maurice Ravel 1875 – 1937, was a French Impressionist...