Cellist Hank Roberts was an early Bill Frisell collaborator and he's been turning up in Frisell's projects again of late. The affinities in taste between the two players are very much in evidence on Everything Is Alive, which blends jazz and Americana in a manner reminiscent of Frisell's own recent work. The principal differences are the prominence given (naturally enough) to Roberts’ instrument of choice and the emphatic musical wit driving it all. It's unmistakably there in ‘Treats with a Blind Dog’, which might be a jagged deconstruction of the Hot Club de France, or in the woozy sparseness of ‘Joker's Ace’. The band is careful to avoid post-modern archness, however, and in many ways the humour – the playful hovering between genres – only further fuels the folksy intensity of the performances. Roberts is spellbinding on ‘Open Gate’ while Frisell contributes shimmering power chords and a deliriously rocked-up solo on ‘Crew Cut’. The rhythm team of Jerome Harris and Kenny Wollesen, meanwhile, provide gripping, texturally detailed accompaniment throughout.