Cosa Brava

Cosa Brava
Cosa Brava performing at Jazzit in Salzburg, Austria, 5 April 2008. (© Markus Lackinger)
Background information
Origin	United States
Genres	Experimental rock, Free improvisation
Years active	2008–present
Labels	Intakt Records
Associated acts	Skeleton Crew, Keep the Dog, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Tin Hat
Members
Fred Frith Zeena Parkins Carla Kihlstedt Matthias Bossi The Norman Conquest

Cosa Brava is an experimental rock and improvisation quintet 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 20 March 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]

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."^[7]

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.^[8]

Members

• Fred Frith – guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, voice
• Zeena Parkins – keyboards, accordion, foley objects, voice
• Carla Kihlstedt – violin, voice
• Matthias Bossi – drums, voice
• The Norman Conquest – sound manipulation

Discography

• Ragged Atlas (2010, CD, Intakt Records, Switzerland)

References

1. ^ "Fred Frith – Cosa Brava". Vortice Associazione Culturale. http://vortice.provincia.venezia.it/frith_cosa_brava.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-25. 
2. ^ Corroto, Mark. "Ragged Atlas". All About Jazz. http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=36317. Retrieved 2010-05-28. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Fred Frith concert schedule". Fred Frith homepage. http://fredfrith.com/concerts.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-24. 
4. ^ "25th Festival international de musique actuelle de Victoriaville". International Festival Musique Actuelle Victoriaville. http://www.fimav.qc.ca/en/edition/horaire/. Retrieved 2008-04-24. 
5. ^ "Festival International Musique Actuelle Victoriaville: Day 5 – May 19, 2008". All About Jazz. http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=29539. Retrieved 2008-05-25. 
6. ^ Kelman, John. "Ragged Atlas". All About Jazz. http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=36378. Retrieved 2010-05-27. 
7. ^ Frith, Fred. "Fred Frith: Cosa Brava Quartet". Inclinaisons. http://www.inclinaisons.com/artists/index.php?ref=fred-frith-6&id=129. Retrieved 2008-04-29. 
8. ^ "The Norman Conquest biography". The Norman Conquest homepage. http://www.thenormanconquest.net/bio. Retrieved 2008-04-29. 

External links

External images
	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.
• (Italian) Fred Frith & Cosa Brava at All About Jazz.
• (Italian) Cosa Brava at Vortice Associazione Culturale.
• Cosa Brava concerts at The Wire.
• Cosa Brava concerts at Saudades Tourneen.
• Cosa Brava review at FIMAV 2008. All About Jazz.