JENNY SCHEINMAN and BILL FRISELL at BARBES, March 3, 2009
MAR 3, 2009 -- PARK SLOPE: In the world of instrumental music, I often find myself watching a group of three or more musicians, and grappling with the fact that it's impossible to look at - and really take in - everyone at once. The opportunity to see a great duo doesn't present itself often enough, and it is the ideal chance to really witness the power of the individual, and the power of the group, in a clear light. It's even less often that the individuals are such talents as violinist and vocalist extraordinaire Jenny Scheinman, and guitar maestro Bill Frisell.
The only evidence that this show existed was a tiny listing on the Barbes website, masking Scheinman's true identity with her alias, Viola Boldt. Still, enough people heard word of the affair as to create a sizeable line an hour before show-time. It was a very rare chance to see Bill Frisell play, without the $30 ticket price. But this was no hot-shot feature affair, rather, most of the material performed was Scheinman's compositions, and one of the great things about her weekly show at Barbes is that you can hear the same compositions played by completely different groups, breathing new life into the pieces. The set opened with Scheinman holding down a melody while Frisell made dynamic use of the effects at his feet, looping and reversing to create an effective bed for the violin.
The rest of the night leaned much more towards the side of "less weird," which ended up being cool, putting Frisell in the position of the rhythm guitarist, or at least a Frisellian rhythm guitarist, which is by definition it's own beast. His original music constantly flows between the avant garde, country twang and rock and roll, making him a truly unique partner for Jenny Scheinman's compositions. Scheinman would most often lead the way through her repertoire while the guitar swooped across register and volume, with an incredibly creative touch, but never stepping on the toes of the melody. Bill Frisell's unique support style was especially awesome during two Lucinda Williams tunes, which were sung by Scheinman, including the stirring "King of Hearts." They closed the set with the Frisell original "Throughout," and "You Are My Sunshine."
Another advantage of the duo setting is that the audience can truly observe the emotional interactions between the participating parties, without excessive volume or activity to distract them. In this case, there was a playful air that persisted throughout, be it a humorous grunt from Frisell when reading down a piece for the first time, or a smile from Scheinman any time Frisell snuck in his own brand of blues lines, and that lighthearted, friendly connection completely tied the show together, which contained some pretty different sounding compositions.
Jenny Scheinman can be seen almost every Tuesday night at Barbes, and Bill Frisell can be seen generally at the Village Vanguard when he rolls through town, or in a tiny room in Park Slope, if you know which websites to check.
