''Before We Were Born'' is the first album by

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts ...

to be released on the Elektra Nonesuch label. It was released in 1989 and features performances by Frisell, cellist

Hank Roberts Hank Roberts (born March 24, 1954, Terre Haute, Indiana) is an American jazz cellist and vocalist. He plays the electric cello, and his style is a mixture of rock, jazz, avant-garde, folk, and classical influences. He emerged with the downtown Ne ...

, bassist

Kermit Driscoll James "Kermit" DriscollSmith, Steve"Driscoll, Kermit".''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 10 December 2022. (born March 4, 1956) is an American jazz bassist. He is known for his long association with guitarist Bill Frisell. ...

and drummer

Joey Baron Bernard Joseph Baron (born June 26, 1955 in Richmond, Virginia) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer who plays frequently with Bill Frisell and John Zorn. Music career Baron was born on June 26, 1955, in Richmond Virginia. When he was nine, ...

. Guests include guitarist

Arto Lindsay Arthur Morgan "Arto" Lindsay (born May 28, 1953) is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He was a member of the pioneering 1970s no wave group DNA, which featured on the 1978 compilation ''No New York''. In ...

, keyboardist Peter Scherer, alto saxophonist

Julius Hemphill Julius Arthur Hemphill (January 24, 1938 – April 2, 1995) was a jazz composer and saxophone player. He performed mainly on alto saxophone, less often on soprano and tenor saxophones and flute. Biography Hemphill was born in Fort Worth, Texas, ...

and baritone saxophonist

Doug Wieselman Douglas Joel Wieselman (born November 30, 1954) is an American composer and jazz reedist. He plays primarily clarinet and tenor saxophone, though he occasionally also plays soprano and baritone saxophone. Early life and education Wieselman was ...

.Nonesuch Records album info
accessed 12 September 2008

Reception

The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review by

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

stated: "Bill Frisell has been one of the most unique jazz-based guitarists of the 1980s and '90s, a very eclectic player who can switch styles and sounds on a moment's notice, yet is always quite distinctive. On this atmospheric and picturesque set, Frisell uses his regular quartet of the time (cellist Hank Roberts, bassist Kermit Driscoll and drummer Joey Baron) on some selections, but also interacts with fellow guitarist Arto Lindsay, keyboardist Peter Scherer and, on "Some Song and Dance," baritonist Doug Wieselman and both Julius Hemphill and Billy Drewes on altos... A very intriguing and colorful set of eccentric music. ".Yanow, S.
Allmusic Review
accessed June 13, 2011

Track listing

All songs composed by Bill Frisell except as noted. # "Before We Were Born" – 6:51 # "Some Song and Dance: Freddy's Step" – 3:06 # "Some Song and Dance: Love Motel" – 6:49 # "Some Song and Dance: Pip, Squeak" – 5:28 # "Some Song and Dance: Goodbye" – 1:43 # "Hard Plains Drifter" – 13:24 # "The Lone Ranger" – 7:34 # "Steady, Girl" (Music, Frisell; lyrics, Arto Lindsay) – 2:10

Personnel

- banjo (2-5), acoustic and electric guitars, pedals *

- electric guitar (1, 7, 8), voice (8) *Peter Scherer - keyboards (1, 7), drum programming (1), keyboard bass (8) *

- drums *

- cello (2-5, 6), voice (6) *

- electric bass guitar (2-5, 6) *

, Billy Drewes -alto saxophones (2-5) *

- baritone saxophone (2-5) *

Cyro Baptista Cyro Baptista (born December 23, 1950) is a Brazilian percussionist in jazz and world music. He creates many of the percussion instruments he plays. Career Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Baptista arrived in the U.S. in 1980 with a scholarship to C ...

- shakers (7) ;Arrangement * Tracks 1, 7, 8 arr. Bill Frisell, Peter Scherer, and Arto Lindsay * Tracks 2-5 arr. Bill Frisell * Track 6 arr.

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...

;Production *Tracks 2-5 produced by

Lee Townsend Lee Townsend is an American independent music producer, curator, artist manager and co-owner of Songtone (Songline/Tone Field Productions), specializing in recordings of singer-songwriters, contemporary composers, improvising musicians, and cross ...

*Track 6 produced by John Zorn *Tracks 1, 7 and 8 produced by Peter Scherer and Arto Lindsay *Album produced by Lee Townsend

References

{{Authority control 1989 albums Bill Frisell albums Elektra/Musician albums