''Road'' is a 2021 double-CD

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the

Fred Frith Trio 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 Rec ...

, an

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

and free improvising group featuring

Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock ...

(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 Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

and Germany in October 2019, and was released in October 2021 by

Intakt Records Intakt Records is an independent record label, based in Zürich. History The label was founded in 1986 by Patrik Landolt.Margasak, Peter (September 2013) "Intakt's Landolt Takes Long-Term Approach to Avant-Garde". ''Down Beat''. p. 16. In the ea ...

in Switzerland. ''Road'' also includes two guest musicians,

Lotte Anker Lotte Anker (born 1958 Copenhagen) is a Danish jazz saxophonist, and composer. With pianist Marilyn Crispell, she serves as one of the co-leaders of the Copenhagen Art Ensemble. Musical career Anker studied music at the Copenhagen University f ...

(saxophone) and

Susana Santos Silva Susana Santos Silva (born 3 January 1979 in Porto, Portugal) is a Portuguese jazz and free improvisation musician (trumpet, flugelhorn, and flute). Biography Santos studied jazz trumpet at the Music College in Porto until 2008 and then the H ...

(trumpet). Anker and Santos Silva had previously performed with the trio on several occasions: Anker in New York and San Francisco, and Santos Silva in Brazil. Both had toured with the trio on the US East Coast and in Europe in 2019.

Reception

In a review of ''Road'' on the ''Best of Jazz'' website, Paul Medrano wrote that the album's first CD introduces the listener to the trio's music. It starts out with elements of jazz-rock sounding not unlike

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

and

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

, then progresses into experimental jazz and the group's "other dimension". Medrano said the inclusion of Anker and Santos Silva ("two extraordinary guests") on the second disc brings another layer of possibility to the trio's music, enhancing its "spirit, sound, and intention". Medrano called ''Road'' "an amazing album", which, despite being recorded live, is "purely electrifying". Reviewing ''Road'' in the Swiss jazz and blues magazine, ', Ruedi Ankli called the trio's performance at the Week-End Fest in the Köln town hall, "breathtaking". He said their improvisation with snatches of melodies and rhythms that grow and collapse is "extraordinary". Ankli complimented Anker and Santos Silva's contributions to the concerts on the second disc. He said their saxophone and trumpet rhythms give the trio new ways to improvise. Ankli said both CDs are "refreshing" in their complexity and boldness. Daniel Spicer wrote in the British monthly, ''

Jazzwise ''Jazzwise'', launched in 1997, is the UK jazz monthly magazine. ''Jazzwise'' has a broad sub-genre coverage, from jazz, improv, hard bop, and jazz-rock to bebop and classic jazz, and also covers jazz crossover, including jazz-funk, jazz hip-h ...

'', that, as on the group's two previous albums, Frith once again displays his "lateral thinking and restless creativity". Spicer said on the first CD, the trio "wanders unhurriedly from lumbering riffage to diaphanous soundscape", while on the second, guest Anker "slides from an assured, earthy tone to keening cry" and Santos Silva "unlocks a trove of extended techniques, from liquid ululations to blustery barrages". Spicer concluded that "It’s rare indeed that improvised music is simultaneously as accessible and cerebral as this."

Track listing

Sources:

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Personnel

– electric guitar, voice *Jason Hoopes – electric bass *Jordan Glenn – drums

Guests

– saxophones (CD 2, tracks 2, 3) *

– trumpet (CD 2, tracks 1, 4) Sources:

Sound and artwork

*CD 1 recorded at Week-End Fest, Stadthalle Köln, Germany, October 18, 2019 *CD 2, tracks 1 and 4 recorded at Old Cabell Hall,

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

, October 4, 2019 *CD 2, tracks 2 and 3 recorded at Altes Kino,

Ebersberg Ebersberg is the seat of the similarly named Ebersberg ''Landkreis'' (district) in the Oberbayern ''Regierungsbezirk'' (administrative region) in Bavaria, southern Germany. The ''Ebersberger Forst'' (forest) is one of Germany’s largest continu ...

, Germany, October 31, 2019 *Mixed and compiled at Guerrilla Recording,

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, May 12, 2021 *Mastered at Headless Buddha, Oakland, California, July 23, 2021 *Myles Boisen – engineer *

– producer *

– producer *Heike Liss – photography, cover art *Fiona Ryan – graphic design Sources:

References

External links

''Road''
at

''Road'' reviews
at Intakt Records {{DEFAULTSORT:Road 2021 live albums Intakt Records albums Albums produced by Fred Frith Fred Frith Trio albums