While Bill Frisell’s artistic method involves deciding on the specific repertoire for each performance based on the his daily experience while on tour, he and Eyvind Kang will be performing a variety of original Frisell compositions and carefully chosen pieces by other composers with extended improvisations based on the thematic material they find inspiring in their musical exploration, tailored especially for the audience of each concert.

WORDS  BY BILL...

„For decades now Eyvind Kang has been my mentor, teacher, collaborator, spirit lifter, and a dear friend. He inspires me. Always. 
Eyvind is a fearless explorer. We’ve traveled many roads together. I’m so much looking forward to our further adventures together.“

Eyvind Kang:
Eyvind Kang has Asian-Icelandic roots and was born in Oregon in 1971.  He began playing the violin at the age of six, but quickly became interested in other instruments such as the guitar, bass, drums, etc.  At Cornish College, Kang not only met his mentor, violinist Michael White (John Handy Quintet), but also established a musical connection with Wayne Horwitz, who introduced him to the young John Zorn. Soon after, John Zorn invited Kang to play with his group Cobra. He began recording his music for Zorn's label, Tzadik, also playing in other Zorn projects. In 1995, he met Bill Frisell for the first time, who approached him to collaborate on a soundtrack. That same year he began playing in Frisell’s new quartet.  In a Downbeat interview (April 1995) with Fred Bouchard, Frisell expressed his enthusiasm for Kang: “I'm so excited about this guy (...) He's classically trained in the Suzuki method and can play bebop, Stravinsky's Soldier's Tale or hip-hop.” The mutual enthusiasm was to continue for a long time: Kang plays violin and tuba on Frisell's album, “Quartet" (1996, Elektra/Nonsuch).  He became part of the 858 Quartet (with Frisell, Jenny Scheinman, and Hank Roberts), where he plays the viola, appearing on the album "Richter 858" (2005) and Frisell's 2008 album "History, Mystery”.  As Kang pursued his own projects he became increasingly versatile.  After studying classical Indian violin in India, he explored his interest in Renaissance music and experimental noise.  But his regular collaboration with Bill Frisell is a fixed star in his musical career.  Frisell collaborated with Kang and Rudy Royston for “Beautiful Dreamers” (2010); Kang  also plays on “Sign of Life.  Music for the 858 Quartet” from 2011 and, as a special guest, on Floratone II (2012). In 2013, he contributed to Frisell's “Big Sur” and in 2016 to Frisell's “When you Wish upon a Star.” 
But Eyvind Kang is not just a distinctive voice in the landscape of improvised music, as collaborations with Jessika Kenney, Bennie Maupin, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Laurie Anderson, and bands such as Blonde Redhead, Animal Collective, and Secret Chiefs demonstrate.
He is also a unique composer: most recently on the albums Riparian (2025), Sonic Gnostic (2021), Ajaeng Ajaeng (2020), and Plainlight (2018).
Pitchfork describes Eyvind Kang as a “musical polymath,” and Bill Frisell continues to emphasize in interviews his great respect for Kang as a highlly sensitive and intuitive musician who enriches every ensemble with his precise listening and quick reactions. This goes far beyond technical skill, because Kang has an instinctive feel for how to achieve organic harmony. (Sandra Hupfauf)


Bill Frisell
Bill Frisell’s career as a guitarist and composer has spanned more than 40 years and many celebrated recordings, whose catalog has been cited by Downbeat as “the best recorded output of the decade”.
Grammy nominated, his latest recording is entitled Orchestras released April 2024 on Blue Note. In the trio format he’s favored throughout his career, the guitarist and composer has always projected an orchestral scope — through his remarkably complete sense of harmony, a unique gift for melodies that remain with you long after a performance, and a keen feel for how dynamic range can be used to convey emotion. But on his new double album, his fourth release for Blue Note Records, he makes those symphonic evocations a reality. Produced by Lee Townsend, Orchestras documents two inspired concert-hall engagements arranged by Michael Gibbs for Frisell’s long- standing trio with bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Rudy Royston: one featuring the nearly 60-piece Brussels Philharmonic, conducted by Alexander Hanson; and one with the 11-piece Umbria Jazz Orchestra, under the musical direction of Manuele Morbidini.
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.