- country:Netherlands
- style(s):Afro, Jazz
- label:Pramisi Records
- artist posted by:Samponé Music Productions
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FRA FRA SOUND (7TET)
Fra Fra Sound is a musical formation whose power and inventiveness has led this septet to cultivate an increasingly acclaimed international reputation. Just as the Fra Fra Sound feel at home on world music stages - at (jazz) festivals and in jazz clubs as well as in theatres and concert halls – so too are a world music lovers, jazz connoisseurs and cross-over aficionados all attracted to Fra Fra’s enticing music. In recent years Fra Fra toured successfully in Europe, Africa, countries around the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean, South America and the United States.
Since their formation in Amsterdam, in the early eighties, various musicians have been a part of Fra Fra Sound, each contributing to the bands journey through a number of artistic stages. At first the focus was on the exploration of Surinamese kaseko, kawina and winti, however the urge to explore beyond these genres soon grew. Thus, from the early nineties on, Fra Fra began their exploration of the extensive relationships between the numerous, diverse musical styles which have their roots in Africa. To the Fra Fra, not only do Caribbean and Latin American musical styles belong to the African Diaspora, but also do the great American traditions of jazz, blues, soul and gospel. Through their explorations and transformations Fra Fra Sound has managed to develop a highly individual sound in which Caribbean and African rhythms and grooves are blended with jazz improvisations in a subtle way.
African-Caribbean cross-over avant la lettre – describes Fra Fra’s music in a nutshell.
The name ‘Fra Fra’ has several meanings; it means a hybrid, but also strange, different, mysterious - the invisible connection. Fra Fra is also the name of a tribe in North-West Ghana; the Fra Fra people. Thus, the band’s name reflects the relationship between music, dance, religion and philosophy from the African Diaspora and from West Africa itself. In an organic and vibrant way, Fra Fra provides insight into the original relationship between American jazz, Surinamese kaseko and African rhythms.
Their continuous artistic development has resulted in Fra Fra being able to hightlight separate African and Caribbean influences. Two CDs that capture this are Kaseko Revisited and Mali Jazz. Kaseko Revisited is a project, in which Fra Fra enlist assistance of vocalists in order to go back to their Surinamese roots. Through the concerts and the CD Kotabra (PRA CD 97001) Fra Fra present a view on the kaseko of the 21st century. The CD Collaboration Musique D’Afrique – Mali Jazz (PRA CD 99003) is the phenomenal result of a unique collaboration with West African musicians, such as the kora virtuoso Toumani Diabate. International critics bracket this CD together with akin releases, such as Ernest Rangling’s In search of the lost riddim, David Murray’s Fo Deuk Revue and Steve Coleman’s The Sign and the Seal. Music that offers an exciting confrontation between contemporary African music being created from the Diaspora, with the music of its West African roots.
FRA FRA SOUND, Press Quotes
“Music full of vitality, delight and perfectly arranged, that’s what Fra Fra Sound - the septet consisting of musicians from the Netherlands, Suriname, the Antilles and Venezuela – give to us. They describe their music as ‘Afro-Caribbean jazz’ and have opted for the powerful African rhythms which they mix with influences from New Orleans and bop.” (Javier de Cambra in the Spanish national newspaper La Razon)
“Fra Fra Sound has developed such an individual diction and sound, that you can recognize this band after ten seconds. They are and will remain the formation of the breathtaking breaks, the subdued power and the polyrhythmic excursions.”… “The Fra Fra ‘Sound’’ has become a very important voice.” (Thomas Wörtche in the German magazine Jazzpodium)
“Afro-Caribbean rhythms, enticing melodies and solid solos in the hardbop idiom. In the twenty years of their existence, Fra Fra has developed such a strong individual sound, that the band can allow themselves to single out the separate influences and still remain recognizable.” (Frank van Herk in the Dutch national newspaper, De Volkskrant)
FRA FRA SOUND, previous festival-performances:
Flamme de la Paix – Bamako, Mali
Wiesen Sunsplash – Wiesen, Austria
Mediawave Festival – Gyor, Hungary
Malta International Jazz Festival – La Valetta, Malta
Jazz a Ouaga – Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Festival d’Art Bouazza – Casablanca, Morocco
Festival du Tunesie – Carthago, Tunesia
Sfinks Festival – Boechout, Belgium
JVC Berlin Jazz Festival – Berlin, Germany
Mercat de Música Viva de Vic – Vic, Spain
Belfast at Queens – Belfast, Northern Ireland
Festival Colours of Europe – London, England
Arts Alive – Johannesburg, South Africa
Standard Bank / Festival Joy of Jazz – Johannesburg, South Africa
Ocho Rios Jazz Festival – Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Plaza Jazz Festival – Habana, Cuba
Aruba Jazz-Latin Festival – Aruba, Dutch Antilles
Surifesta – Paramaribo, Suriname
New York Texaco Jazz Festival – New York, USA
North Sea Jazz Festival – The Hague, The Netherlands
Africa Roots Festival – Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Zelt Festival – Kassel, Germany
Festival Nieuwe Muziek – Middelburg, The Netherlands
In addition to the festivals, Fra Fra Sound has toured extensively worldwide with sucessfull performances in Cuba, Surinam, Aruba and Curaçao, Jamaica, U.S.A., Morocco, Tunesia, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, South-Africa, La Reunion, Mayotte; and in Europe Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Malta and Turkey.
Fra Fra Sound, discography:
Panja Gazz + 4 1991
Third Life Stream 1990
Kalinha’s Serenade 1993
Worship Mother Earth 1994
Global Village Residents 1996
Kaseko Revisited / Kotabra 1997
Collabaration musique d’Afrique
/ “Mali jazz” 1999
Kultiplex - NEW CD 2003
FRA FRA SOUND, line-up:
Andro Biswane - guitar
Robin van Geerke - piano
Vincent Henar - e-bass,
bandleader
Liber Torriente - drums
Michael Simon - trumpet
Efraïm Trujillo - tenor-saxophone
Carlo Ulrichi - percussion
Contactaddress:
Sampone Music Productions / Fra Fra
P.O. Box 18591
1001 WC Amsterdam
Nieuwpoortkade 2A
1055 RX Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 (0)20 6060768
Fax: +31 (0)20 6060769
Email: info@frafrasound.com
Website: www.frafrasound.com
