''Quartet'' is the eighth 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 1996 and features performances by Frisell, trumpeter

Ron Miles Ronald Glen Miles (May 9, 1963 – March 8, 2022) was an American jazz trumpeter, cornetist, and composer. He recorded for the labels Prolific (1986), Capri (1990), and Gramavision. His final album, ''Rainbow Sign'', was his first on the Blu ...

, trombonist

Curtis Fowlkes Curtis Fowlkes (born March 19, 1950) is an American jazz trombonist and singer. He is a founding member of The Jazz Passengers. Career In 1987, Fowlkes started The Jazz Passengers with saxophonist Roy Nathanson. He has also been a member of ...

and violinist and tuba player

Eyvind Kang Eyvindur Y. Kang (born 23 June 1971) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. His primary instrument is viola, but has also performed on violin, tuba, keyboards and others. In addition to his solo work, Kang has worked extensively wit ...

.Nonesuch Records album info
accessed 12 September 2008 Tracks 1, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 12 are from ''

Gary Larson's Tales from the Far Side ''Gary Larson's Tales from the Far Side'' is an animated short film created in 1994 by Gary Larson, based on ''the Far Side'' comic strip. It was first shown as a Halloween special on CBS television, which aired on October 26, 1994. Later it was ...

'' (1994), an animated television special created by

Gary Larson Gary Larson (born August 14, 1950) is an American cartoonist, environmentalist, and former musician. He is the creator of ''The Far Side'', a single-panel cartoon series that was syndicated internationally to more than 1,900 newspapers for fif ...

. Tracks 3 and 13 are from the Italian film ''

La scuola ''La scuola'' (also known as ''School'') is a 1995 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Daniele Luchetti. It is loosely based on two books by Domenico Starnone, ''Ex Cattedra'' and ''Sottobanco''. The film was awarded with the David di Donatello ...

'' (1995) directed by

Daniele Luchetti Daniele Luchetti (; born 25 July 1960) is an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor. Life and career Luchetti was born in Rome. He debuted as assistant director for Nanni Moretti in '' Bianca'' (1983) and '' The Mass Is Ended'' (1985) ...

. Tracks 4 and 10 were written for the Buster Keaton film ''

Convict 13 ''Convict 13'' is a 1920 two-reel silent comedy film starring Buster Keaton. It was written and directed by Keaton and Edward F. Cline. Plot Buster plays golf one morning with a group of friends and after a disastrous start, drives his bal ...

'' (1920).

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 databa ...

review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars, stating, "This CD uses a rather unusual instrumentation, a quartet composed of Frisell, trumpeter Ron Miles, trombonist Curtis Fowlkes and Eyvind Kang, who doubles on violin and tuba. Ten of the 13 Frisell originals on the release were originally written for films (including one for Gary Larson, "Tales from the Far Side," and one for a Buster Keaton movie "Convict 13"), and the resulting music is tightly arranged yet spontaneous, episodic, and sometimes a bit nutty, but also strangely logical. Whether it be the old-timey theme to "Dead Ranch," the blues in "Convict 13," a few somber ballads, or hints at early Duke Ellington (particularly by Miles' wah-wah trumpet), this is a continually interesting, offbeat set."Yanow, S.
Allmusic Review
accessed June 15, 2011

Track listing

All compositions by Bill Frisell except as indicated. # "Tales From The Far Side" – 6:27 # "Twenty Years" – 2:55 # "Stand Up, Sit Down" – 5:37 # "Convict 13" – 5:36 # "In Deep" – 3:10 # "Egg Radio" – 4:31 # "The Bacon Bunch" – 4:26 # "Prelude" (Frisell, Miles) – 1:36 # "Bob's Monsters" – 8:44 # "The Gallows" – 6:14 # "What?" – 3:26 # "Dead Ranch" – 4:27 # "Coffaro's Theme" – 4:27

Personnel

–

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

and acoustic guitars *

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trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

, piccolo trumpet *

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violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

–

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

References

{{Authority control 1996 albums Bill Frisell albums Nonesuch Records albums