Even as he made waves on the New York downtown scene with John Zorn and his own groundbreaking ensembles, guitarist Bill Frisell revealed subtle country and roots influences in his liquid, melodic phrasing—something he chose to articulate more explicitly on 1997’s Nashville, his ninth Nonesuch outing. Joining him was an Americana A-team, including Jerry Douglas on Dobro; Ron Block on banjo; Adam Steffey on mandolin; and Viktor Krauss (brother of Alison) on bass. Vocalist Robin Holcomb, meanwhile, guests on a handful of tracks, including the Neil Young cover “One of These Days” and the fun Hazel Jane Dickens bluegrass number “Will Jesus Wash the Bloodstains From Your Hands”. And Pat Bergeson plays a mean harmonica on Frisell’s “Go Jake” and “Pipe Down”. In authentic bluegrass combo style, there is no drummer—a first for Frisell, whose drummer of choice Joey Baron left a big imprint on much of his previous work. Serving as producer is Wayne Horvitz, a major downtown scene figure in his own right (and Holcomb’s husband). It’s a big win: Frisell weaves through elegantly simple harmonic landscapes much like he would a Thelonious Monk tune. The eclectic “newgrass” sensibility brings out something new not only in his playing, but also his writing. Unabashedly beautiful melodies like “Family” and “Dogwood Acres” sit comfortably alongside quirky themes (“Mr. Memory”) and twisted slow blues (“We’re Not from Around Here”). Though Frisell plays mainly electric guitar, he ventures some beautiful acoustic on “Shucks”, “Mr. Memory” and “Brother”, further accentuating that bluegrassy string blend. Frisell’s work with Viktor Krauss continued on the Nonesuch follow-ups Gone, Just Like a Train and Good Dog, Happy Man. Pedal steel great Greg Leisz joined on the latter, as well as the 2001 septet recording Blues Dream, heightening the rootsy, folkloric flavour of Frisell’s sound.