Fred Hersch + Bill Frisell: Songs We Know

As nice as it would be for jazz artists to be rewarded for artistic progress, the jazz community is generally one of the more conservative music-buying audiences. As well known and respected as guitarist Bill Frisell may be, his music is still considered to be on the fringe. So what does a fringe artist do to attract some more mainstream attention He ventures into the high-traffic vault of popular jazz standards. Songs We Know is a collection of duets teaming Frisell and pianist Fred Hersch. The result is classy lounge music as these two talented players kick back and relax musically. Hersch has long been known for his tasteful interpretations of songwriters as varied as Rodgers & Hammerstein and Thelonious Monk, but it's only been with his own recent (and milder) work that Frisell has seriously dipped into the work of others. Frisell's smart covers of his own eclectic choices (like Madonna and Sousa) have generally worked as complements to his originals, but something's been driving him to the quieter, more conservative side of things. Granted, Frisell's lyrical guitar tone shines in tandem with Hersch's gentle playing on "Someday My Prince Will Come," "Blue Monk," "I Got Rhythm," and other standards, but the results are still rather plain, tasteful to a fault. Oranj Symphonette, on the other hand, is much more adventurous. The California outfit features four of jazz's most creative musicians: Horn player Ralph Carney and guitarist Joe Gore have both played with Tom Waits, and bassist/bandleader Matt Brubeck (guess who his dad is) and drummer Pat Campbell make for an elastic rhythm section. The group's first album was made up entirely of Henry Mancini interpretations. The new record is all over the place, tackling the theme from The Magnificent Seven, Mancini's "Arabesque," and Ellington's "Satin Doll" (all standards in their own right) with the creative zest of smart pranksters. It may not sound much like jazz, veering wildly from funk to surf music to exotica and back again, but that's one the true signs of jazz progressives. And besides, it's pretty fun, too.