Bill Frisell is often dubbed a jazz guitarist, but it's quickly clear that his music is far broader than that limiting handle. Frisell's discography is evidence of journeys into American music of all kinds, and of a distinctive style of playing.
Often armed with guitars like the Telecaster that are more commonly employed in rock or country, Frisell crafts a six-string sound far from the muffled, harmless strumming or carefully intricate noodling common to jazz guitar. His sound is expansive and open, often shimmering with delay and reverb, and he relies on mood and texture far more than virtuosic speed. The result might well be jazz, but it's jazz that employs elements of ambient, Americana, even country.
Frisell's lush, hypnotic stylings fill the Iron Horse this week.
March 4, $25/advance, $28/door, 7 p.m., Iron Horse Music Hall, 20 Center St., Northampton, (413) 586-8686 or (800) THE-TICK.
