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Montreal International Jazz Festival 2012: Bill Frisell at Club Soda; June 28, 2012

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See Tijana Martin’s photo gallery of the concert here.

Sometimes you need to hear familiar music in  an unfamiliar way to really appreciate it. Such was the case Thursday night at Club Soda when guitar iconoclast Bill Frisell  tackled some of the great  songs written by  John Lennon.

As you might expect, he put an American twang on these classics, alternating between power rock, pyschedelia and a righteous, country feel.

Backed by a powerful trio of collaborators that included bassist Tony Scherr, drummer Kenny Wollesen and pedal steel guitarist Greg Leisz, Frisell approached Lennon’s work with equal parts respect and anarchy.

He took his time, finding intriguing ways to enter each tune, playing snatches of familiar chords and notes that left you wondering what song was coming.

Frisell brought out the melodic beauty of  these  tunes while deconstructing them in his own wry way. We’re not used to hearing them without the lyrics, which made things all the more interesting as he carefully phrased them as if singing along.

Across The Universe opened with a spacey intro and thick textures as Leisz provided pedal steel counterpoint to Frisell’s soaring guitar. The melody was played in a poignant, almost bittersweet way and soon the band was riffing insistently that Nothing’s Going to Change My World.

Beautiful Boy was given a lilting, Caribbean spin. You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away began with spare harmonies and counterpoint between the two guitars, then morphed into joyous music-making that built with each chorus.

There was a wild intro to Come Together, then a churning bass line from  Scherr that launched the tune. Julia became a stately, country ballad and Please Please Me was a raucous jam.

When the band finished up with In My Life, you had the feeling you had gotten to know John Lennon in a brand new way.



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