Beautiful Dreamers (album)

Reception

In his review for Allmusic, Thom Jurek notes that "While this trio is well known for using various effects in concert to expand its sonic palette, and jamming on various tunes for long periods of time, here the musicians are virtually a mirror image of that incarnation, playing with restraint, brevity, and melodic sensitivity... Ultimately, Beautiful Dreamers is a wonderfully balanced trio exercise". Writing for All About Jazz Troy Collins stated "Ethereal and spare, with periodic interludes of spry activity, the sixteen tunes that comprise the album are models of brevity and sonic restraint—yet hardly indicators of the trio's expansive diversity, as suggested by contemporaneous concert reports... Beautiful Dreamers fits seamlessly into the arc of Frisell's oeuvre, opening a new, albeit familiar chapter in his discography". JazzTimes Bill DeMain observed "this record doesn’t really sound much like jazz as much as compelling, emotionally resonant, genre-free music. Sure, it swings in places, and there’s some fiery improvisation. But after decades of trodding such a brave and singular path, maybe Frisell deserves his own genre. How about “friz”?"

Track listing

All compositions by Bill Frisell except as indicated.

1. "Love Sick" – 1:04
2. "Winslow Homer" – 3:32
3. "Beautiful Dreamer" (Stephen Foster) – 3:02
4. "A Worthy Endeavor" – 5:24
5. "It's Nobody's Fault But Mine" (Blind Willie Johnson) – 4:34
6. "Baby Cry" – 6:21
7. "Benny's Bugle" (Benny Goodman) – 3:31
8. "Tea for Two" (Vincent Youmans) – 4:28
9. "No Time to Cry" – 1:36
10. "Better Than a Machine" – 2:49
11. "Goin' Out of My Head" (Teddy Randazzo, Bobby Weinstein) – 2:46
12. "Worried Woman" – 4:44
13. "Keep on the Sunny Side" (A. P. Carter) – 2:26
14. "Sweetie" – 4:28
15. "All We Can Do" – 6:16
16. "Who Was That Girl?" – 6:16

Personnel