Cosa Brava
- Experimental rock
- avant-rock
- free improvisation
Zeena Parkins
Carla Kihlstedt
Matthias Bossi
Shahzad Ismaily
The Norman Conquest
Cosa Brava is an experimental rock and free improvisation group formed in March 2008 in Oakland, California, by multi-instrumentalist and composer Fred Frith (Henry Cow, Skeleton Crew, Keep the Dog). The band comprises Frith on guitar, Zeena Parkins (Skeleton Crew, Keep the Dog) on keyboards and accordion, Carla Kihlstedt (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum) on violin, Matthias Bossi (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum) on drums, and The Norman Conquest on sound manipulation.[1] All About Jazz described their music as "somewhere between folk, Celtic, modern chamber, Latin, funk, Eastern, and prog-rock".[2]
Cosa Brava's first performance was in Oakland, California on March 20, 2008. They then went on to tour Europe in April 2008, playing in France, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland.[3] In May 2008 they performed at the 25th Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada,[4][5] and in December 2008 at the Knitting Factory in New York City and the ICA in Boston.[3]
Cosa Brava recorded their first album, Ragged Atlas in San Francisco in December 2008, which was released in March 2010. John Kelman in a review at All About Jazz said that the album "transcends time and genre" and is "one of 2010's most auspicious debuts".[6] A second album entitled The Letter was released in March 2012.[7]
Background
Fred Frith's career began as a "rock musician" with Henry Cow in 1968, but has since diversified into a number of different genres, from avant-garde jazz to contemporary classical music. He has written scores for film and dance, and music for orchestras and string quartets. He became Professor of Composition the Music Department at Mills College in Oakland, California in 1999. The motivation behind the formation of Cosa Brava arose out of Frith's nostalgia for rock music. He said, "I really miss what you can do with a rock band. I miss developing material through the push and pull of cooperative rehearsals, I miss what happens when you move away from 'the parts' and start formulating things with a collective ear, I miss the single-minded commitment to a group identity."[8]
Frith had previously worked with Zeena Parkins in Skeleton Crew and Keep the Dog, and had collaborated with Carla Kihlstedt on several albums. The Norman Conquest had been a student of Frith's at Mills College.[9]
Members
- Fred Frith – guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, voice
- Zeena Parkins – keyboards, accordion, Foley objects, voice
- Carla Kihlstedt – violin, voice
- Matthias Bossi – drums, voice
- Shahzad Ismaily (from 2011) – bass guitar, voice
- The Norman Conquest – sound manipulation
Discography
- Ragged Atlas (2010, CD, Intakt Records, Switzerland)
- The Letter (2012, CD, Intakt Records, Switzerland)
References
- ^ "Fred Frith – Cosa Brava". Vortice Associazione Culturale. Archived from the original on February 11, 2012. Retrieved April 25, 2008.
- ^ Corroto, Mark (May 1, 2010). "Ragged Atlas". All About Jazz. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
- ^ a b "Fred Frith concert schedule". Fred Frith homepage. Archived from the original on April 17, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
- ^ "25th Festival international de musique actuelle de Victoriaville". International Festival Musique Actuelle Victoriaville. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
- ^ "Festival International Musique Actuelle Victoriaville: Day 5 – May 19, 2008". All About Jazz. May 22, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
- ^ Kelman, John (May 3, 2010). "Ragged Atlas". All About Jazz. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
- ^ "Cosa Brava: The Letter". Intakt Records. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
- ^ Frith, Fred. "Fred Frith: Cosa Brava Quartet". Inclinaisons. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
- ^ "The Norman Conquest biography". The Norman Conquest homepage. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
External links
External image | |
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Cosa Brava by Heike Liss at Intakt Records. |
- Every Which Way: Experimentalist Fred Frith's Cosa Brava mixes multiple musical worlds The Boston Globe.
- Cosa Brava at Inclinaisons.
- Cosa Brava on Myspace.
- (in Italian) Fred Frith & Cosa Brava at All About Jazz.
- (in Italian) Cosa Brava Archived February 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine at Vortice Associazione Culturale.
- Cosa Brava concerts at Saudades Tourneen.
- Cosa Brava review at FIMAV 2008. All About Jazz.
- Cosa Brava at AllMusic.
- v
- t
- e
- Henry Cow
- Art Bears
- Massacre
- Skeleton Crew
- Keep the Dog
- Cosa Brava
- Fred Frith Trio
- Henry Now
- The Orckestra
- Duck and Cover
- French Frith Kaiser Thompson
- Death Ambient
- Fred Frith Guitar Quartet
- Maybe Monday
- Aksak Maboul
- Material
- Naked City
- Guitar Solos
- Gravity
- Speechless
- Cheap at Half the Price
- Quartets
- Clearing
- Prints
- Eleventh Hour
- To Sail, to Sail
- Clearing Customs
- Guitar Solos / Fifty
Music for Dance |
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Music for Film |
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Composer only |
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- Live in Japan
- Stone, Brick, Glass, Wood, Wire
- Impur II
- Storytelling
- All Is Always Now – Live at The Stone
- Woodwork
Composer only |
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- With Friends Like These (with Henry Kaiser)
- Voice of America (with Bob Ostertag and Phil Minton)
- Live in Prague and Washington (with Chris Cutler)
- French Gigs (with Lol Coxhill)
- Who Needs Enemies? (with Henry Kaiser)
- Nous Autres (with René Lussier)
- Attention Span (with Bob Ostertag and John Zorn)
- Dropera (with Ferdinand Richard)
- Live Improvisations (with Tim Hodgkinson)
- Helter Skelter (with François-Michel Pesenti)
- Live in Trondheim, Berlin & Limoges, Vol. 2 (with Chris Cutler)
- The Art of Memory (with John Zorn)
- Traffic Continues (with Ensemble Modern)
- 2 Gentlemen in Verona (with Chris Cutler)
- Dalaba Frith Glick Rieman Kihlstedt (with Lesli Dalaba, Eric Glick Rieman and Carla Kihlstedt)
- What Leave Behind (with Toychestra)
- 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 5 (with John Zorn)
- The Compass, Log and Lead (with Carla Kihlstedt and Stevie Wishart)
- Duo (Victoriaville) 2005 (with Anthony Braxton)
- Ironic Universe (with Janet Feder)
- The Stone: Issue Two (with Chris Cutler)
- The Sugar Factory (with Evelyn Glennie)
- The Art of Memory II (with John Zorn)
- Still Urban (with ARTE Quartett)
- The Big Picture (with ARTE Quartett)
- Late Works (with John Zorn)
- Angels on the Edge of Time (with Lindsay Cooper, Gianni Gebbia and Lars Hollmer)
- Cut Up the Border (with Nicolas Humbert and Marc Parisotto)
- Laying Demons to Rest (with Susana Santos Silva)
Compilations |
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- Category