Live Improvisations | ||||
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Live album by | ||||
Released | 1992[lower-alpha 1] | |||
Recorded | May 1990 | |||
Venue | London, Sheffield, Leeds Bridge End | |||
Genre | Experimental music, free improvisation | |||
Length | 52:48 | |||
Label | Woof (UK) Megaphone (US) | |||
Producer | Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson | |||
Fred Frith chronology | ||||
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Live Improvisations is a 1992 [lower-alpha 1] collaborative live album of improvised music by English experimental musicians Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. [7] It was recorded in May 1990 in England and was released on Woof Records in the United Kingdom and Megaphone Records in the United States. [5]
Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson's first performance together was when they supplied music for a dance recital in 1968 while they were students at Cambridge University. They had never played together before and Frith said "[Tim] had an alto sax, and I had my violin, and we just improvised this ghastly screaming noise for about half an hour." [8] Surprised by their performance, and to keep the momentum going, Frith and Hodgkinson formed a band, which went on to become the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. [8]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [7] |
Writing in a review at AllMusic, Rick Anderson described the improvisations of Frith and Hodgkinson on this album as "cacophonic", but added that "none of it is ugly; in fact, much of it is downright lovely". [7] Anderson rated the album as "[h]ighly recommended". [7]
All tracks are untitled, composed by Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson, and performed in England.
Track | Venue | Date | Length |
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1. | Club Integral, Conway Hall, London | 12 May 1990 | 33:20 |
2. | Purcell Room, London | 13 May 1990 | 2:08 |
3. | Purcell Room, London | 13 May 1990 | 1:17 |
4. | Purcell Room, London | 13 May 1990 | 3:13 |
5. | George IV, Infirmary Road, Sheffield | 10 May 1990 | 8:23 |
6. | Termite Club, The Adelphi, Leeds Bridge End | 11 May 1990 | 4:27 |
All tracks recorded by Michael Gerzon.
Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser.
Skeleton Crew was an American experimental rock and jazz group from 1982 to 1986, comprising core members Fred Frith and Tom Cora, with Zeena Parkins joining later. Best known for their live improvisation performances where they played various instruments simultaneously, they also recorded two studio albums Learn to Talk (1984) and The Country of Blinds (1986). The group drew on music and themes from a number of sources, including world music, left-wing politics and pre-recorded tapes.
Timothy "Tim" George Hodgkinson is an English experimental music composer and performer, principally on reeds, lap steel guitar, and keyboards. He first became known as one of the core members of the British avant-rock group Henry Cow, which he formed with Fred Frith in 1968. After the demise of Henry Cow, he participated in numerous bands and projects, eventually concentrating on composing contemporary music and performing as an improviser.
Unrest is an album by British avant-rock group Henry Cow, recorded at Virgin Records' Manor studios in February and March 1974. It was their second album and was released in May 1974. It was their first album including oboe and bassoon player Lindsay Cooper, who replaced saxophonist Geoff Leigh. American critic Glenn Kenny said Cooper's presence on the album grounded the band in European art music.
Concerts is a live double album by English avant-rock group Henry Cow, recorded at concerts in London, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway between September 1974 and October 1975. Sides one and two of the LP record consist of composed material while sides three and four contain improvised pieces.
Gravity is a 1980 solo album by English guitarist, composer and improviser Fred Frith from Henry Cow and Art Bears. It was Frith's second solo album and his first since the demise of Henry Cow in 1978. It was originally released in the United States on LP record on the Residents's Ralph record label and was the first of three solo albums Frith made for the label.
Step Across the Border is a soundtrack double album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith, of the 1990 avant-garde documentary film on Frith, Step Across the Border. The album features music from the film performed by Frith and other musicians, and covers ten years of Frith's musical career from 1979 to 1989.
Learn to Talk / Country of Blinds is a CD compilation album by American experimental rock and jazz band Skeleton Crew. It was released by RecRec Music in 1990 and comprises the band's two studio albums, Learn to Talk and The Country of Blinds, with two tracks omitted from the former album, and one track omitted from the latter.
The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set is a nine-CD plus one-DVD limited edition box set by English avant-rock group Henry Cow, and was released by RēR Megacorp in January 2009. It consists of almost 10 hours of previously unreleased recordings made between 1972 and 1978 from concerts, radio broadcasts, one-off projects, events and the studio. Included are new compositions, over four hours of free improvisation, and live performances of some of Henry Cow's original LP repertoire.
Catherine Jauniaux is a Belgian avant-garde singer. She has been described as a "one-woman-orchestra", a "human sampler", and "one of the best kept secrets in the world of improvised music". Her solo album, Fluvial (1983) is regarded as one of her most accomplished works. She was married to the late American experimental cellist and composer Tom Cora.
Woof Records is a British independent record label founded by English musicians Tim Hodgkinson and Bill Gilonis in London in 1980.
Angels on the Edge of Time is a 2015 collaborative live album of musical improvisations by Lindsay Cooper, Fred Frith, Gianni Gebbia and Lars Hollmer. It was recorded on 30 May 1992 at the AngelicA Festival Internazionale di Musica in Bologna, Italy, and released by I Dischi di Angelica in January 2015. This is the only album released by the quartet.
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.
The Stone: Issue Two is a 2007 live album of improvised experimental music by Fred Frith and Chris Cutler. It was recorded at The Stone in New York City on 15 December 2006 and was one of four CDs released between 2006 and 2010 by Tzadik Records to raise funds for The Stone. It was Frith and Cutler's fourth collaborative album.
Live in Trondheim, Berlin & Limoges, Vol. 2 is a 1994 live album of improvised experimental music by Chris Cutler and Fred Frith. It was recorded in Limoges, France on 13 December 1979; at the Nordlydd Contemporary Music Festival in Trondheim, Norway on 16 October 1991; and in Tacheles, Berlin, Germany on 2 November 1991. The album was released by Recommended Records in 1994. It was Frith and Cutler's second collaborative album.
Live in Prague and Washington is a live album of improvised experimental music by Chris Cutler and Fred Frith. It was recorded at the 8th Prague "Jazz Days" Festival in Prague in former Czechoslovakia on 25 May 1979, and at the DC Space in Washington, D.C., on 20 December 1979. The album was released by Recommended Records in 1983 on a 45 rpm 12" LP. It was Frith and Cutler's first collaborative duo album.
Duo (Victoriaville) 2005 is a 2006 live album of improvised music by Anthony Braxton and Fred Frith. It was recorded on May 20, 2005 at the 22nd Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in Quebec, Canada, and released in May 2006 by Les Disques Victo, the festival's record label.
With Friends Like These is a 1979 studio album of improvised experimental music by Fred Frith and Henry Kaiser. It was recorded in July 1979, and was released on LP by Metalanguage Records later that year. It was Frith and Kaiser's first collaborative album, and was followed in 1983 by Who Needs Enemies?
Who Needs Enemies? is a 1983 studio album of improvised experimental music by Henry Kaiser and Fred Frith. It was recorded in October 1983, and was released on LP by Metalanguage Records later that year. It was Kaiser and Frith's second collaborative album, following on from their first, With Friends Like These in 1979.
Friends & Enemies is a 1999 double-CD compilation album of studio and live material by Fred Frith and Henry Kaiser. It contains the complete collaborative recordings of Frith and Kaiser from 1979 to 1999, namely their two studio albums With Friends Like These (1979) and Who Needs Enemies? (1983), an unreleased live album recorded in 1984, and new studio tracks recorded in 1999. The album was released by Cuneiform Records in June 1999.