Fred Frith

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 experience across almost every field of musical endeavor, Fred stretches out in the company of two stalwarts of the vibrant Bay Area music scene who have their own stories to tell. Fred Frith writes about his Trio: "When I proposed this trio I had nothing in mind beyond getting together with a couple of formidable musicians who I love and respect and seeing what would happen, which is pretty much the way things go in my world. We played a few gigs many months apart, always had a blast, invited a couple of awesome guests (Lotte Anker and Jessica Lurie) and didn't think much in conceptual or any other terms. It took playing night after night during our European tour of 2015 or some themes to start emerging. I appeared to be channeling some of my earliest rock and roll experiences – jamming with members of Pink Fairies in 1969, a couple of sad weeks in a band with Syd Barrett, and attending Gong and Pink Floyd concerts where I had the chance to absorb the lessons of Daevid Allen and Dave Gilmour. Earlier my electric guitar heroes hadbeen George Harrison and Pete Townsend, and then – as my horizons broadened – Muddy Waters and Sonny Sharrock. McLaughlin's playing in Tony Williams' Lifetime had been a revelation. On tour with the trio these voices all started clamoring for attention, and Jason's stunning ability to wring every-thing there is to be wrung out of an electric bass was as liberating as Jordan's playful, irreverent, and absolute authority. Anything can happen. Really. It's a bloody great feeling. I think this record captures it quite well!"