Bill Frisell with Dave Holland and Elvin Jones

1	Outlaws / Jones 7:55
2	Twenty Years / Jones 3:15
3	Coffaro's Theme / Jones 4:51
4	Blues Dream / Jones 4:48
5	Moon River / Jones 6:26
6	Tell Your Ma, Tell Your Pa / Jones 9:07
7	Strange Meeting / Jones 5:26
8	Convict 13 / Jones 3:56
9	Again / Jones 7:33
10	Hard Times (Come Again No More) / Jones 3:41
11	Justice and Honor / Jones 4:49
12	Smilin' Jones / Jones 5:02

Barnes & Noble

Though the title of this album by avant-jazz guitarist Bill Frisell is clunky, the music within moves with the assuredness and high internal drama of a Clint Eastwood cowboy film. Frisell’s cinematic songwriting often recalls this image, but the leanness of a trio makes the pictures even more vivid. And what a trio: The illustrious and powerful drummer Elvin Jones plays as smoothly as the gait of a fine Arabian mare, tempering his drums to fit Frisell’s moods. On the cover of Henry Mancini’s “Moon River,” Jones’s simple brushes illustrate the song’s romantic innocence. He uses them again to sweeten the mournful “Again,” but only after setting the mood with an opening power play. Bassist Dave Holland, no slouch himself in the annals of jazz, converses with the guitarist as if they were long-lost brothers, often playful and usually supportive. Their two instruments even get into a bit of an argument on “Tell Your Ma, Tell Your Pa” before sliding into sync. On “Convict 13” Holland plays as simply as a blues-band bassist. Much of the project has this loose, unrehearsed feel. These players have never worked as a trio before, and it is their striving for common ground that gives the CD its excitement and beauty. Roberta Penn

All Music Guide

What can you expect but good things from a date featuring three players of such high pedigree. With Dave Holland and Elvin Jones representing the steadfast rhythm sections of old, and with Frisell's post-modern tones being among the finest voices moving jazz forward, a date like this should easily yield some classic moments. But Frisell comes up with only partial melodies and bare bones sketches for the band to play. Jones sounds at times utterly bored with his rhythm duties, desperate for a chance to stretch out. Frisell himself is often hesitant. Henry Mancini's "Moon River" and Stephen Foster's century-and-a-half old "Hard Times" together offer brief glimpses of levity, but cannot save the set entirely. John Duffy

Billboard

Holland and Jones warm well to the folk-inflected material, complimenting the guitarist's offbeat charm and unerring taste with their muscular authority.