Bill Frisell Comes to Smothers Theatre In January

Singer/songwriter Bill Frisell performs music from his newest pop culture-inspired project at Pepperdine University's Smothers Theatre in Malibu on Tuesday, January 22 at 8 p.m.

Tickets, priced starting at $20 for adults and $10 for full-time Pepperdine students, are available now by calling (310) 506-4522 or visiting arts.pepperdine.edu. More information about Frisell is available at billfrisell.com.

Frisell's career as a guitarist and composer has spanned more than 35 years and many celebrated recordings. His catalog has been cited by Downbeat as "the best recorded output of the decade," including his recent albums for Savoy- Sign of Life with the 858 Quartet; Beautiful Dreamers; All We Are Saying, a collection of John Lennon interpretations; and his debut release for OKeh/Sony Masterworks, Big Sur, featuring music commissioned by the Monterey Jazz Festival and composed at the Glen Deven Ranch in Big Sur, for strings, guitar and drums in a quintet comprised of long-time musical associates.

His current tour, When You Wish Upon a Star, is based on his newest Grammy-nominated album of the same same name (released 2016), a project that developed at Lincoln Center during Frisell's two-year appointment as guest curator for the Roots of Americana series (September 2013-May 2015). In When You Wish Upon a Star, Frisell draws upon the classic music from film and television we have heard on screen and how it shapes and informs our emotional relationships. The album features Frisell with vocalist Petra Haden, Eyvind Kang (viola), Thomas Morgan (bass) and Rudy Royston (drums) performing Frisell's arrangements and interpretations of iconic music, including re-imaginings of time-honored gems such as "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Moon River," "You Only Live Twice," the theme from "Bonanza," and more. The touring version of the band includes Haden, Morgan, and Royston. Jazz Times lauded the album for its "unforgettable themes... reconfigured with ingenuity, wit, and affection by Frisell and a terrific group."

Frisell's other the Grammy-nominated album, Guitar in the Space Age! (2014), is an homage to the inspirational popular music of his formative years made in the wake of the birth of the Fender Telecaster guitar. Frisell and his band mates explore material on the Okeh/Sony Masterworks release associated with The Beach Boys, Junior Wells, Pete Seeger, the Byrds, Duane Eddy, the Ventures, the Kinks, Chet Atkins, Link Wray, Speedy West & Jimmy Bryant, the Astronauts, Merle Travis, Johnny Smith, and others, as well as original material by Frisell.

Frisell's Nonesuch output spans a wide range of musical expression, from original Buster Keaton film scores, to arrangements for extended ensembles with horns and strings (Blues Dream, History, Mystery, Unspeakable); collaborations with bassist Viktor Krauss and drummer Jim Keltner (Gone, Just Like a Train, Good Dog, Happy Man); an album with Nashville musicians (Nashville), a solo album (Ghost Town), a collection of traditional American folk songs and originals inspired by them (The Willies), and two trio albums with jazz legends Dave Holland/Elvin Jones and Ron Carter/Paul Motian. The Intercontinentals blends Frisell's brand of American roots music with Brazilian, Greek, and Malian influences. Disfarmer was inspired by the work of the mid-century rural Arkansas photographer Mike Disfarmer.

Recognized as one of America's 21 most vital and productive performing artists, Frisell was named an inaugural Doris Duke Artist in 2012. He is also a recipient of grants from United States Artists, and Meet the Composer, among others. Upon San Francisco Jazz opening their doors, he served as one of their Resident Artistic Directors. Most recently, Frisell was commissioned to compose and perform a new composition in San Francisco by the Freshgrass Festival.

The Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts at Pepperdine University provides high-quality activities for over 50,000 people from over 1,000 zip codes annually through performances, rehearsals, museum exhibitions, and master classes. Located on Pepperdine's breathtaking Malibu campus overlooking the Pacific, the Center serves as a hub for the arts, uniquely linking professional guest artists with Pepperdine students as well as patrons from surrounding Southern California communities. Facilities include the 450-seat Smothers Theatre, the 118-seat Raitt Recital Hall, the "black box" Helen E. Lindhurst Theatre, and the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art.

Singer/songwriter Bill Frisell performs music from his newest pop culture-inspired project at Pepperdine University's Smothers Theatre in Malibu on Tuesday, January 22 at 8 p.m.

Bill Frisell "When You Wish Upon a Star" featuring Petra Haden, Thomas Morgan, & Rudy Royston. Tuesday, January 22, 2019, 8 p.m., Smothers Theatre, Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA

TICKETS: (310) 506-4522 or arts.pepperdine.edu

PRICES: $20-$45 for adults, $10 for Pepperdine students

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