An amazing collection and reflection on the work of percussionist, composer and connector Chris Cutler of Henry Cow fame and founder of the highly influential Recommended Records label and distribution service, through 10 CDs, 1 DVD and two books of documentation, artwork, photographs, published and unpublished texts in a sturdy box, with over five hours of unreleased materials.

Mixed, edited and re-organized by Fred Frith and mastered by Thomas Dimuzio, this album find the trio of Frith on electric guitar, Evelyn Davis on the Mills Chapel pipe organ and Phillip Greenlief on clarinet & alto saxophone, performing in the Mills College Chapel in Oakland, CA, the sophomore release on Clean Feed for this versatile trio of masterful improvisers.

A perfectly complementary pair of improvisers from the ever-inventive guitarist Fred Frith and instrument inventor Sudhu Tewari, Frith performing on home-made instruments as well-- string instruments he's developed since the 80s described as "planks of wood with strings"--as the two draw unexpected sonic environments and propulsive rhythmic passages through eight compelling dialogs.

Commissioned by and recorded during the 2018 Ars Musical Festival, Fred Frith composed this work while under the inspiration of his residency at Lou Harrison's straw-bale house in the desert at Joshua Tree, CA, then performed with the Ensemble Musiques Nouvelles, along with two very unique improvisations, one recorded during the dress rehearsal and then again in concert.

Commissioned by and recorded during the 2018 Ars Musical Festival, Fred Frith composed this work while under the inspiration of his residency at Lou Harrison's straw-bale house in the desert at Joshua Tree, CA, then performed with the Ensemble Musiques Nouvelles, along with two very unique improvisations, one recorded during the dress rehearsal and then again in concert.

Interdisciplinary Spanish percussionist Núria Andorrà whose background includes contemporary music and improvisation with performers including Agustín Fernández, Joëlle Léandre, Mats Gustafsson, Nate Wooley, and Joe Morris joins Fred Frith in Santa Maria de Palautordera for studio and concert recordings of eleven far-ranging dialogs of unusual and imaginative technique and concept.

Expanding on the history of Henry Cow in new recordings discovered after the 19-CD Cow Redux box, including: a well-recorded concert at the the first Glastonbury Fayre in 1972, the earliest recordings of the quartet of Martin Ditcham, Fred Frith, John Greaves and Tim Hodgkinson; a 1978 grouping with Phil Minton; unrecorded compositions from 1977 in Bilbao; and a 1976 Chaumont Concert.

An evocative album of sublime improvisation between guitarist Fred Frith and trumpeter Susana Santo Silva, recorded live for France Musique/Radio France at Motoco, Mulhouse as part of Festival Météo in 2021, the two inspiring remarkable force and assertive direction in a darkly spirited conversation of deep introspection and cathartic exorcism; magnificent!

Extended and captivating improvisations using complex and extended techniques from the duo of prepared pianist Annie Lewandowski (London Improvisers Orchestra, Powerdove, Xiu Xiu) and guitarist Fred Frith (Henry Cow, Skeleton Crew, &c &c) in a thoroughly modern improvised conversation, here reissued with 11 minutes of previously unreleased material.

Originally commissioned by Music Traditions Inc. for the Paul Dresher Ensemble and premiered at Z Space in San Francisco in 2012, this adaptation of three numbered works by composer, improviser & multi-instrumentalist Fred Frith was part of Studio Dan's homage to Frank Zappa, written using strong rhythmic structuresÊand melodies associated with Frith's voice as a composer.

One of the most intense and unusual of the 80s Downtown NY groups merging rock and improvisation with strong attitudes and incredible musical concepts, these live recordings, including songs never before released, are taken from American and European concerts by the trio of guitarist Fred Frith, cellist Tom Cora, and either electric harpist Zeena Parkins or reedist Dave Newhouse.

Originally released in 2001, Elliott Sharp's production of this 3-CD set collects 171 1-minute pieces from international artists over a vast field of musical approaches, with contributors including Christian Marclay, Eric Mingus, Fred Frith, Harry Smith, Henry Kaiser, Ikue Mori, Jack Womack, Jad Fair, Joey Baron, Marc Ribot, Merzbow, Phill Niblock, Zeena Parkins, &c. &c.

A uniquely eccentric free improv album by Fred Frith on electric guitar and Lol Coxhill on soprano sax, originally released in 1983 on the French AAA label, the album assembles recordings from the "Musiques de Traverses" Festival 1981, 1978 concerts in Sainte Croix, in Poitiers, and at M.J.C. Aliénor D'Aquitaine in Limoges, plus additional material from 1999 in Munchen & London.

Recording in Chile at the University Austral in 2018, trumpeter Benjamin Vergara and guitarist Fred Frith take us on two extended journeys through free electroacoustic improvisation, Frith's providing diverse and intense sonic environments over which Vergara's virtuosic and intuitive approach to the trumpet soars; impressive, creative, cathartic.

Born out of Eugene Chadbourne's Twins band concepts from the 70s, which included over time saxophonist Bruce Ackley, and guitarists Henry Kaiser, and Fred Frith; fast forward to 2018 as Ackley & Frith return to the concept with Henry Kaiser and saxophonist Aram Shelton to revisit the original approach through pieces by those artists plus Steve Lacy, Eugene Chadbourne, and John Zorn.

Guitarist Fred Frith performed 80 concerts at NY's The Stone between 2006-2016, in diverse configurations of duos, trios, quartets and large ensembles with some of the planet's finest improvisers, of which 23 recordings, titled from NY Times headlines of each concert's day, are presented in this essential 3-CD package, which includes a 24 page booklet detailing the collection.

Recording in the Bay Area at the Mills College Chapel in Oakland, the Drone Trio of Fred Frith on electric guitar, Phillip Greenlief using extended techniques on alto & tenor saxophones, and Evelyn Davis on the Chapel's pipe organ, use the natural resonance of the chapel and their masterful skills as improvisers to evolve fervid and powerfully sonorous environments.

A thorough overview of bassist and vocalist Joelle Leandre's recent work in a boxed set of 8 CDs and a 16 page booklet of essays, photos and credits, each CD bringing a unique grouping from Les Diaboliques to duos with Mat Maneri, Fred Frith, Lauren Newton, & Jean-Luc Cappozzo, plus one solo disc and a quartet with Zlatko Kaucic, Evan Parker and Augusti Fernandez; magnificent.

Fred Frith's solo career started on the West Coast Ralph Records label, home of The Residents; Frith met Residents front man Hardy Fox in passing in 1991, making recordings on a Pacific beach using Fox's Walkman, which they brought to a multi-track studio to record the basis for an ultimately unreleased album, now revived decades later as Fox rediscovered this fascinating material.

Bay Area trumpeter Darren Johnston meets improvising guitar legend Fred Frith for an incredibly well-paced series of duos, remarkable improv that uses space, skill, extended techniques and unexpected approaches to both instruments in vivid and beautiful discourse.

Helen Mirra uses the index of a W.G. Sebald's novel to create a mysterious, intriguing and fascinating audio world, performed by Mirra on printing press and acoustic guitar, and Fred Frith on rainsticks, mbira, charango, music box, voice, shoes and other objects.

Live recordings from this great pair of improvisors, selected from their performances at Festival des musiques de creation in Saguenay and at La Sala Rossa in Montreal.

RESTOCKED: Fred Frith's 1999 box set, presenting a large, flexible ensemble project using marked photographs and rules as scores while Frith directs and conducts as well as performing; permanent members are Ikue Mori and Zeena Parkins, otherwise the balance of the 44 strong ensemble changes; recordings here are taken from 5 concerts, including the first in 1992 at AngelicA.

Composer and improviser Antoine Berthiaume in a compilation of guitar duos with Derek Bailey and Fred Frith exploring the full range of guitar improvisation.

Explosive, psychedelic music from the trio of Jean Derome, Fred Frith, and Pierre Tanguay recorded and mixed by Myles Boisen.

Fred Frith's leads a quartet of electric guitars (Rene Lussier, Nick Didkovsky, Mark Stewart) through 10 different journeys that explores the dynamic potential of this unique group composition.