Metalanguage Records | |
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Founded | 1978 |
Founder | Henry Kaiser, Larry Ochs |
Genre | Jazz, free jazz |
Country of origin | U.S. |
Location | Berkeley, California |
Metalanguage Records was a record label in Berkeley, California, founded in 1978 by Henry Kaiser and Larry Ochs. It showcased Rova as well as many independent artists and produced the Rova Arts Festival in 1980. [1]
Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as a founding member of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. He was also a member of the groups Art Bears, Massacre, and Skeleton Crew. He has collaborated with a number of prominent musicians, including Robert Wyatt, Derek Bailey, the Residents, Lol Coxhill, John Zorn, Brian Eno, Mike Patton, Lars Hollmer, Bill Laswell, Iva Bittová, Jad Fair, Kramer, the ARTE Quartett, and Bob Ostertag. He has also composed several long works, including Traffic Continues and Freedom in Fragments. Frith produces most of his own music, and has also produced many albums by other musicians, including Curlew, the Muffins, Etron Fou Leloublan, and Orthotonics.
Eugene Chadbourne is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic.
Rova Saxophone Quartet is an American, San Francisco–based saxophone quartet, formed in October 1977. The name "Rova" is an acronym formed from the last initials of the founding members: Jon Raskin, Larry Ochs, Andrew Voigt, and Bruce Ackley. When Voigt left in 1988, he was replaced by Steve Adams, but the group did not change the acronym.
Henry Kaiser is an American guitarist and composer, known as an idiosyncratic soloist, a sideman, an ethnomusicologist, and a film score composer. Recording and performing prolifically in many styles of music, Kaiser is a fixture on the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. He is considered a member of the "second generation" of American free improvisers. He is married to Canadian artist Brandy Gale. He is the son of Henry J. Kaiser Jr. and the grandson of industrialist Henry J. Kaiser.
Chris Brown is an American composer, pianist and electronic musician, who creates music for acoustic instruments with interactive electronics, for computer networks, and for improvising ensembles. He was active early in his career as an inventor and builder of electroacoustic instruments; he has also performed widely as an improviser and pianist with groups as "Room" and the "Glenn Spearman Double Trio." In 1986 he co-founded the pioneering computer network music ensemble "The Hub". He is also known for his recorded performances of music by Henry Cowell, Luc Ferrari, and John Zorn. He has received commissions from the Berkeley Symphony, the Rova Saxophone Quartet, the Abel-Steinberg-Winant Trio, the Gerbode Foundation, the Phonos Foundation and the Creative Work Fund. His recent music includes the poly-rhythm installation "Talking Drum", the "Inventions" series for computers and interactive performers, and the radio performance "Transmissions" series, with composer Guillermo Galindo.
Toshinori Kondo was a Japanese avant-garde jazz and jazz fusion trumpeter.
Fred Frith appears on over 400 recordings. This is a selection from bands he was/is a member of, collaborations with other bands and musicians, and his solo recordings. The year indicates when the album was first released. For a comprehensive discography, see the Discography of Fred Frith by Michel Ramond, Patrice Roussel and Stephane Vuilleumier.
Freedom in Fragments is a studio album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith. It was composed by Frith in 1993 as "a suite of 23 pieces for saxophone quartet", and was performed by the Rova Saxophone Quartet between February 1999 and January 2000 in San Francisco. The album was released on Tzadik Records' Composer Series in 2002. Frith does not perform on this album.
Maybe Monday is an American experimental electroacoustic improvisation music ensemble comprising guitarist Fred Frith, koto player Miya Masaoka and saxophonist Larry Ochs. The trio was formed in San Francisco in March 1997 when they performed in a concert at the Great American Music Hall. They have since toured the United States, Canada and Europe, and released three albums between 1999 and 2008.
Larry Ochs is an American jazz saxophonist, co-founder of the Rova Saxophone Quartet and Metalanguage Records.
Diamanda Galas is the eponymously titled second album by American avant-garde musician Diamanda Galás, released in 1984 by record label Metalanguage.
Electric Ascension is a live album by Rova::Orchestrova, the American ensemble Rova Saxophone Quartet along with additional musicians, performing an interpretation of John Coltrane's 1966 album Ascension. The album was recorded in California in 2003 and released on the Atavistic label in 2005.
Bingo is an album by the Rova Saxophone Quartet featuring compositions by Lindsay Cooper, Barry Guy, Fred Frith, and Larry Ochs which was recorded in 1996 and released on the Canadian Victo label.
Beat Kennel is an album by the Rova Saxophone Quartet recorded in Milan in 1987 for the Italian Black Saint label.
Favorite Street is an album by the Rova Saxophone Quartet performing compositions by Steve Lacy recorded in Milan in 1983 for the Italian Black Saint label.
Totally Spinning is an album by the Rova Saxophone Quartet recorded in 1996 for the Italian Black Saint label but not released until 2006.
The Crowd is an album by the Rova Saxophone Quartet recorded in France in 1985 for the Swiss Hathut label.
The Aggregate is a live album by the Rova Saxophone Quartet and Anthony Braxton recorded in California in 1986 and 1988 for the Sound Aspects 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.