Fred Frith Trio

Last updated

Fred Frith Trio
Origin Oakland, California, US
Genres
Years active2013–present
Labels Intakt Records
Associated actsJack O' The Clock
Members

The Fred Frith Trio is a San Francisco Bay Area based experimental music and free improvising group featuring Fred Frith, Jason Hoopes and Jordan Glenn. They were formed in Oakland, California in 2013, released two studio albums on Intakt Records in 2016 and 2018, and toured Europe in 2015 and 2017, and Brazil in 2018.

Contents

Canadian music critic Raul da Gama described the Fred Frith Trio as "[t]hree extravagantly creative musicians employed in making music like we’ve never heard before". [1] DownBeat magazine critic Peter Margasak said they are "a scrappy improvising trio" who "deftly" revisit many of Frith's musical endeavors in "a gritty, unified attack". [2] Andy Robson wrote in the British monthly, Jazzwise that they "conjure improvised soundscapes that defy definition". [3] Comparisons have been made to Massacre, but Robson said the Fred Frith Trio have a sound that is "beguilingly, more delicately sharing, more teasing and 'thinner'" than that of the New York City trio. [3] Musician and educator Kevin Coultas wrote that the trio is one of Frith's "most superlative" bands since Henry Cow. [4]

Biography

The Fred Frith Trio comprises English guitarist Fred Frith, American bassist Jason Hoopes, and American drummer/percussionist Jordan Glenn. Frith was a founding member of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow, and from 1999 has been teaching musical improvisation at Mills College in Oakland, California. [5] [6] [7] Hoopes and Glenn are members of the Oakland experimental song group Jack O' The Clock. [8]

The Fred Frith Trio was formed in Oakland in 2013 and began playing at several local live venues. [5] The naming of the trio was "an accident", and had been suggested "as a joke" by guitarist Ava Mendoza, who had shared the bill with them at one of their early concerts. [9] While Frith was not happy about being headlined, the promoters liked it and the name stuck. [9] In February 2015 the trio toured Europe, performing in Croatia, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium. [10] They toured Europe again in February 2017, performing in Norway, Austria, Turkey, France, Poland, Italy and Germany. [11] In August 2018 the trio played in Brazil with jazz trumpeter Susana Santos Silva and performance artist Heike Liss. [12]

Frith said "When I proposed this trio I had nothing in mind beyond getting together with a couple of formidable musicians who I love and respect and seeing what would happen". It was not until after their first European tour that "some themes ... start[ed] emerging". Frith explained that he found himself drawing on his "earliest rock and roll experiences", and with Hoopes' "stunning ability to wring every-thing [ sic ] there is to be wrung out of an electric bass" and Glenn's "playful, irreverent, and absolute authority ... [a]nything can happen. Really. It's a bloody great feeling." [13]

In January 2016 the trio recorded their debut album, Another Day in Fucking Paradise , which was released in June 2016. The album was generally well received by critics: Glenn Astarita described the album in All About Jazz as a "hardcore off-centered delicacy", [14] while Chris Baber, writing in Jazz Views, called it "an exhilarating and explosive kicking against the doors of improvised music". [15] The trio recorded their second studio album, Closer to the Ground in January 2018, which was released in September 2018. It was also generally well received, with Karl Lippegaus for the German radio station WDR 3 describing it as a tangle of "complex soundscapes", [16] and DownBeat magazine music critic Peter Margasak writing that melodies surface occasionally, but the trio focuses on "exploring the nexus of groove and mood" without remaining in one place for too long. [2]

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Other album appearances

Members

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<i>Another Day in Fucking Paradise</i> 2016 studio album by Fred Frith Trio

Another Day in Fucking Paradise is a 2016 studio album by the Fred Frith Trio, a San Francisco Bay Area based experimental music and free improvising group featuring Fred Frith, Jason Hoopes and Jordan Glenn. It is their debut album and was recorded in Oakland, California in January 2016, and released in June 2016 by Intakt Records in Switzerland.

<i>Ironic Universe</i> 2006 studio / live album by Janet Feder and Fred Frith

Ironic Universe is a 2006 double album of prepared guitar music by Janet Feder and Fred Frith. It comprises a studio CD of solo tracks by Feder and duo improvisations by Feder and Frith, and a live DVD of solo performances by Frith and Feder filmed in Colorado. It was released by Dave Kerman's Ad Hoc Records on January 1, 2006.

<i>2 Gentlemen in Verona</i> Album by Fred Frith and Chris Cutler

2 Gentlemen in Verona is a 2000 live album of improvised experimental music by Chris Cutler and Fred Frith. It was recorded Verona, Italy on 16 April 1999 and released by Recommended Records in April 2000. It was Frith and Cutler's third collaborative album.

Susana Santos Silva Portuguese jazz musician

Susana Santos Silva is a Portuguese jazz and free improvisation musician.

<i>The Compass, Log and Lead</i> 2006 studio album by Fred Frith, Carla Kihlstedt and Stevie Wishart

The Compass, Log and Lead is a 2006 studio album of improvised acoustic experimental music by Fred Frith, Carla Kihlstedt and Stevie Wishart. It was recorded in October 2003 in Oakland, California, and released by Intakt Records in 2006.

<i>Dalaba Frith Glick Rieman Kihlstedt</i> Album by Lesli Dalaba, Fred Frith, Eric Glick Rieman and Carla Kihlstedt

Dalaba Frith Glick Rieman Kihlstedt, also stylized as DalabaFrithGlickRiemanKihlstedt, is a 2003 studio album of improvised experimental music by Lesli Dalaba, Fred Frith, Eric Glick Rieman and Carla Kihlstedt. It was recorded at Guerrilla Recording in Oakland, California, and was released by Accretions Records in San Diego, California in 2003.

<i>Closer to the Ground</i> 2018 studio album by Fred Frith Trio

Closer to the Ground is a 2018 studio album by the Fred Frith Trio, a San Francisco Bay Area based experimental music and free improvising group featuring Fred Frith, Jason Hoopes and Jordan Glenn. It is their second album and was recorded in Oakland, California in January 2018, and released in September 2018 by Intakt Records in Switzerland. It follows on from their first album, Another Day in Fucking Paradise that was released in June 2016.

<i>All Is Always Now – Live at The Stone</i> 2019 live album by Fred Frith

All Is Always Now – Live at The Stone is a 2019 three-CD box set of live improvised music performed by English guitarist Fred Frith with other musicians, including Theresa Wong, Ikue Mori, Pauline Oliveros and Laurie Anderson. It was recorded between 2007 and 2016 at The Stone in New York City, and was released in March 2019 by Intakt Records in Switzerland.

<i>Unsquare</i> 2008 studio album by Maybe Monday

Unsquare is a 2008 studio album by Maybe Monday, a San Francisco based experimental electroacoustic improvisation music ensemble featuring guitarist Fred Frith, koto player Miya Masaoka and saxophonist Larry Ochs. It is their third album and includes guest musicians Gerry Hemingway, Carla Kihlstedt, Ikue Mori and Zeena Parkins. Unsquare was recorded at East Side Sound Studio in New York City on November 18, 2006, and was released by Intakt Records in Switzerland in January 2008.

<i>Still Urban</i> 2009 studio album by Fred Frith and ARTE Quartett

Still Urban is a 2009 avant-garde jazz studio album by English guitarist and composer Fred Frith and the Swiss-based ARTE Quartett. It was recorded in January 2008 at Swiss Radio DRS2 in Zürich, Switzerland, and was released in 2009 by Intakt Records, together with Frith and the ARTE Quartett's second collaborative album, The Big Picture, which was also recorded in January 2008 at Swiss Radio DRS2.

<i>The Big Picture</i> (Fred Frith and ARTE Quartett album) 2009 studio album by Fred Frith and ARTE Quartett

The Big Picture is a 2009 avant-garde jazz studio album by English guitarist and composer Fred Frith and the Swiss-based ARTE Quartett. It was recorded in January 2008 at Swiss Radio DRS2 in Zürich, Switzerland, and was released in 2009 by Intakt Records, together with Frith and the ARTE Quartett's first collaborative album, Still Urban, which was also recorded in January 2008 at Swiss Radio DRS2.

<i>Road</i> (Fred Frith Trio album) 2021 live album by Fred Frith Trio

Road is a 2021 double-CD live album by the Fred Frith Trio, an experimental music and free improvising group featuring Fred Frith (guitar), Jason Hoopes (bass) and Jordan Glenn (drums). It is their third album and their first live release. The album was recorded in Charlottesville, Virginia and Germany in October 2019, and was released in October 2021 by Intakt Records in Switzerland.

References

  1. ↑ daGama, Raul (September 12, 2016). "Fred Frith Trio: Another Day in Fucking Paradise". JazzdaGama. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Margasak, Peter (December 2018). "Fred Frith Trio: Closer to the Ground" (PDF). DownBeat . Vol. 86 no. 12. Maher Publications. p. 63. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  3. 1 2 Robson, Andy (November 2018). "Fred Frith Trio: Closer to the Ground". Jazzwise .
  4. ↑ Coultas, Kevin (October 20, 2018). "Cécile McLorin Salvant, Cory Smythe, Phronesis, Fred Frith, and The Lie Detectors". In On The Corner. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  5. 1 2 Frith, Fred. "Fred Frith". FredFrith.com. Archived from the original on October 5, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  6. ↑ Frith, Fred. "This and That". FredFrith.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Faculty & Staff: Fred Frith". Mills College. Archived from the original on October 17, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Jack O' The Clock". jackotheclock.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  9. 1 2 Gottschalk, Kurt (September 2019). "Fred Frith: Busy in the Now" (PDF). The New York City Jazz Record (209): 8. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Fred Frith Trio EUROPEAN TOUR". jordanglennmusic.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  11. ↑ "FRED FRITH TRIO EU TOUR". jordanglennmusic.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Fred Frith Trio w/ Susana Santos and Heike Liss in Brazil". jordanglennmusic.com. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  13. ↑ Frith, Fred (2016). Another Day in Fucking Paradise (CD liner notes). Fred Frith Trio. Intakt Records.
  14. ↑ Astarita, Glenn (September 6, 2016). "Fred Frith Trio: Another Day in Fucking Paradise". All About Jazz . Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  15. ↑ Baber, Chris. "Fred Frith Trio: Another Day in Fucking Paradise". Jazz Views. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  16. ↑ Lippegaus, Karl (September 13, 2018). "Preview Jazz". Westdeutscher Rundfunk (in German). Retrieved October 31, 2018.
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