artist info

Bill Frisell’s career as a guitarist and composer has spanned more than 40 years and many celebrated recordings. "Mr. Frisell and his semi-sweet, misty-eyed attack have modeled both experimentation and serenity in improvised music.” - New York Times

His latest recording released this April 19th is Orchestras, on Blue Note, a double album with Rudy Royston on drums and Thomas Morgan on bass performing with the Brussels Philharmonic and Umbria Jazz Orchestra.

In March 2022, a biography on Frisell, entitled Beautiful Dreamer – The Guitarist Who Changed The Sound of American Music, written by Philip Watson was published by Faber and released in the UK, Europe, South, Central America & Asia. Through unprecedented access, and interviews with his close family, friends and collaborators, Philip Watson tells the story of the innovative and influential guitarist and composer.

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. From 2013 – 2015, Bill was Resident Artistic Director for Jazz at Lincoln Center for their Roots of Americana series, and in 2016, he was a beneficiary of the first FreshGrass Composition commission to preserve and support innovative grassroots music. Upon San Francisco Jazz opening their doors in 2013, he served as one of their Resident Artistic Directors. Bill is also the subject of a documentary film by director Emma Franz, entitled Bill Frisell: A Portrait, which examines his creative process in depth. He has also received an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music.

New York-based jazz musician Tony Scherr plays acoustic and electric bass and guitar in a variety of (often downtown) line-ups. He played with Woody Herman while a teenager, and later performed in Russ Gershon's Either/Orchestra and John Lurie's Lounge Lizards. Scherr has toured the U.S., Japan and Europe, and now has a recording studio based out of his home. He has worked frequently with reedist Michael Blake, in the Lounge Lizards, on Blake's Kingdom of Champa and in the groove quartet, Slow Poke, whose debut CD Scherr also engineered. Other artists Tony Scherr has worked with include Bill Frisell, Sophie B. Hawkins and Maria Schneider.

Born in Fort Worth, Texas, and raised in Denver, Colorado, Royston has been a professional teacher, drummer and percussionist for almost twenty years. He studied classical percussion at University of Denver where earned undergraduate degrees in Music and English, and accomplished teacher certification credentials from Metropolitan State College of Denver. Rudy grew up playing drums in church, and found his voice under the auspices of Colorado’s celebrated trumpeter Ron Miles, whom Royston deems his greatest influence, and with whom Rudy has played since 1991. He has taught, recorded and performed all styles of music from Jazz to marching percussion. Since moving to Piscataway, New Jersey in 2006, Royston has completed a Masters in Music degree from Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and performed with many of today’s finest Jazz musicians. Javon Jackson, Bill Frisell, Les McCann, David Gilmore, Ben Allison, Jason Moran, JD Allen, Sean Jones, Jeremy Pelt, Greg Osby, Jennifer Holiday, Ravi Coltrane, Ralph Bowen, Bruce Barth, George Colligan, Don Byron, Stanley Cowell, Tom Harrell, John Ellis, Jenny Scheinmenn and The Mingus Big Band, to name a few. A lover of all genres of music, Rudy continues to pursue music and expand his music horizons.