Fred Frith
In the 1990 film made about him, Step Across the Border, Fred Frith plays a guitar lying flat on a table, worked with brushes, chains and bows: not an instrument to be held but an object to be questioned. That gesture holds fifty years together. Born in England in 1949, he founded Henry Cow in 1968, then Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew, and recorded alongside Robert Wyatt, Derek Bailey, John Zorn and Brian Eno. He has written long pieces for Ensemble Modern and the Rova Saxophone Quartet, appears on more than four hundred albums, and has spent decades teaching improvisation. In 2008 he received the Demetrio Stratos prize.
In the 1990 film made about him, Step Across the Border, Fred Frith plays a guitar lying flat on a table, worked with brushes, chains and bows: not an instrument to be held but an object to be questioned. That gesture holds fifty years together. Born in England in 1949, he founded Henry Cow in 1968, then Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew, and recorded alongside Robert Wyatt, Derek Bailey, John Zorn and Brian Eno. He has written long pieces for Ensemble Modern and the Rova Saxophone Quartet, appears on more than four hundred albums, and has spent decades teaching improvisation. In 2008 he received the Demetrio Stratos prize.
Step Across The Border
Although this is technically the soundtrack to a film of the same name by Nicolas Humbert and Werner Penzel, Step Across the Border actually serves as an excellent overview of Fred Frith\'s groundbreaking work as a soloist, bandleader, and collabora…
Another Day In Fucking Paradise
Frith returns to his deep roots in this improvising trio with the classic lineup of guitar, bass and drums. Playful, intimate, and bound together by a dark and delicate interplay, the group reminds us what listening is all about. After a lifetime of …
The Natural Order
Guitarist Fred Frith and saxophonist John Butcher are titans within the world of improvised music. Over the last four decades, each of these two men has permanently altered the way in which his instrument is heard: Frith with his (at times literal…
s/t
Fred Frith, electric guitar. Michel Doneda, soprano and sopranino saxes. First meeting recorded live at Swissnex, San-Francisco (February 2009).
Gravity
Former Henry Cow guitarist Fred Frith pays homage to three giants of contemporary classical music: John Cage, Morton Feldman and Earle Brown. In his own inimitable fashion, Frith has tried to incorporate the chosen composer's own working methods into…
That House We Lived In
It was a long wait, but, 12 years after the fact, Fred Frith put together a live album of his group Keep the Dog, which had previously gone undocumented. Comprised of sax/flute player Jean Derome, guitarist René Lussier, keyboardist/harpist Zeena Par…
Middle of the Moment
Continuing the definitive Fred Frith edition, this is the CD based on Fred’s music for the second film he made with Humbert and Penzel – following nomads – that features, along with Fred’s compositions and re-workings, a restless and gripping unfoldi…
Prints - Snapshots, Postcards, Messages And Miniatures 1987-2001
The short story: Prints is Fred Frith's first album of songs in 20 years. The long story: it is actually a collection of compilation tracks and unreleased studio sessions recorded between 1987 and 2001. No matter if you already own a few of these,…
Accidental
Fred Frith has been heard in all possible contexts, from solo improviser to composer of orchestral music, but he remains at his best when trapped in a studio, alone or with a few musicians, building layered pieces. This process previously yielded stu…
The Previous Evening
Former Henry Cow guitarist Fred Frith pays homage to three giants of contemporary classical music: John Cage, Morton Feldman and Earle Brown. In his own inimitable fashion, Frith has tried to incorporate the chosen composer's own working methods into…