Bill Frisell turns 75!
new album „in my Dreams“ - out on 27.2.2026

Frisell — a “mild-mannered maverick [who] has made a colossal impact” (The New Yorker) — has pursued a singular musical career more than four decades. The guitarist turns 75 on March 18 and will be celebrating his milestone birthday with a series of special concerts with special projects.

Guitar master Bill Frisell embraces the freedom of the trio format on Valentine, joined by longtime collaborators Thomas Morgan (bass) and Rudy Royston (drums). Together, they explore a wide range of Frisell originals, timeless standards, and folk classics with lyrical sensitivity and adventurous interplay. Their deep musical connection, honed over years of touring, allows for spontaneous, conversational performances full of nuance and surprise.

Adding another rich layer to this musical dialogue is saxophonist Greg Tardy, whose ongoing collaboration with Frisell brings a soulful, expressive voice to the mix. Tardy’s warm tone and intuitive phrasing complement the trio’s dynamic energy, deepening the group’s interpretive palette and expanding their collective sound.

As AllAboutJazz puts it, Valentine “feels like the beginning of a great adventure,” while Guitar World calls their version of “We Shall Overcome” “about as beautiful an instrumental as you’ll ever hear.”


BIOS

Bill Frisell’s career as a guitarist and composer has spanned more than 45 years and many celebrated recordings, whose catalog has been cited by Downbeat as “the best recorded output of the decade”. Frisell’s new album, “In My Dreams” released February ’26 by Blue Note Records to coincide with a series of concerts celebrating his 75th birthday throughout the U.S. and Europe. Produced by Lee Townsend, the album features Frisell’s long-time collaborators - Jenny Scheinman (violin), Eyvind Kang (viola), Hank Roberts (cello), Thomas Morgan (bass) and Rudy Royston (drums) - in an ensemble configuration that has never recorded together previously, performing largely original music written or newly arranged, especially for this project. Bill’s excitement for it is palpable. “I’ve been dreaming about this.”, he said. "A family gathering. A reunion. That’s what it feels like getting together with my closest friends. Our history goes back decades. Coming up on a half-century with Hank! I’ve spent so much time with these folks. Traveled many miles. But that doesn’t mean we’re done. There’s still much unfinished business. We’re just getting started." 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 SFJAZZ 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 hiscreative process in depth. He has also received an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music.


Thomas Morgan

Described by The New York Times as “a jazz musician whose presence in a recording or performance almost automatically makes it worth your time,” Thomas Morgan, born in California and now residing in New York, is one of today’s most sought-after jazz bassists. Known for his telepathic synchronicity, melodic and expressive phrasing, precise touch, and amber sound, he has performed alongside a number of the most trendsetting artists in jazz, including Bill Frisell, Jakob Bro, Craig Taborn, Masabumi Kikuchi, Paul Motian, Dan Weiss, Jim Black, John Abercrombie, Dave Binney, Steve Coleman, Ethan Iverson, Aaron Parks, Fred Hersch, Charles Lloyd, Joe Lovano, and Tomasz Stańko. He has released two duo albums with Bill Frisell—Small Town and Epistrophy—on ECM Records. In 2025, he released his debut as a leader, Around You Is a Forest, a “lush, layered journey” that pairs a distinguished cast of collaborators with WOODS—a generative virtual instrument of his own design.


Rudy Royston

Rudy Royston 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.


Gregory Tardy

Saxophonist, multi-reedist, and composer Gregory Tardy is one of the most 
versatile jazz musicians of his generation. In 1992, he recorded his first CD, Crazy Love, and in early1993 he started touring with the legendary drummer from John Coltrane’s classic quartet, Elvin Jones, and was a member of the Elvin Jones Jazz Machine until mid 1995. 

As a sought-after New York sideman, he has performed and/or recorded in the bands of many other prominent jazz artists including Andrew Hill, Bill Frisell, Tom Harrell, Dave Douglas, Wynton Marsalis/Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Regina Carter, Nicholas Payton, Roy Hargrove, Steve Coleman, Betty Carter, Don Byron, Jay McShann, Rashied Ali, Ellis Marsalis, Brian Lynch, John Patitucci, Jack McDuff, and many others. He is also performed and/or recorded with some prominent popular artists; such as the Neville brothers, Keb Mo, Allen Toussaint, Common, and others.

He has performed at most of the major jazz festivals around the world and on most of the biggest stages in jazz. He has been featured on several Downbeat Albums of the Year and several Grammy nominated recordings; including a Grammy winning CD in 2006 (Simpático by the Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project). 

Gregory Tardy has been voted a Rising Star in Downbeat Magazine’s Annual Critics and Readers Polls multiple times, on both saxophone and clarinet. He also has 17 recording projects under his own name. One of his recent releases, More Than Enough, was a collector’s edition vinyl duo project with Bill Frisell 
released in 2019 on the Newvelle label and will hopefully be re-released digitally this year.  Tardy released his first exclusively clarinet project entitled In His Timing in 2023, and his latest jazz saxophone project Abide In Love in 2025; both on the WJ3 label. 

Currently, Tardy is the Professor of Jazz Saxophone at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and continues to perform and record nationally and internationally as a sideman and as a leader