Percy Howard, Charles Hayward, Fred Frith, Bill Laswell
Country of origin:
U.S.
Type of music generally:
Experimental jazz; postmodern fusion
Status:
First album, Meridiem, 1998
See also:
Materiali Sonori label site
Comparisons:
Material, Hakim Bey. (woj@smoe.org)
Covers/own material:
Own, some lyrics by others
General comments:
a formidable quartet combining the significant capabilities of three venerable avant/jazz musicians with the apocalyptic vocalizations of percy howard. (woj@smoe.org)
Recommended first album:
Meridiem
Recordings:
Meridiem
Meridiem
Release info:
1998--Materiali Sonori--Maso CD 90098 (Italy), 12957.0098.2
Availability:
worldwide
Ecto priority:
Recommended for fans of inventive and challenging music.
Group members:
Percy Howard--vocals
Charles Hayward--drums, percussion, cowbell, wurlitzer
Fred Frith--guitar, radio, organ, violin
Bill Laswell--bass, fuzz bass
Produced by:
Percy Howard III
Comments:
a dark and brooding album. highly rhythmic (but is that a surprise given the presence of bill laswell and charles hayward), its swells are peppered with the atmospheric guitarwork of fred frith. over it all, percy howard's deep and evocative voice floats like a lifeboat at sea. (woj@smoe.org)
Further info:
MATERIALI SONORI
52027 San Giovanni Valdarno (AR)
ITALYPercy Howard is a poet, singer, songwriter and producer. He leads the band nús and is a feature writer who has had a number of articles which appeared in mondo 2000.
Bill Laswell is a long-time member of the downtown New York avant-everything scene. He runs Axiom Records, which is a good a place as any to find out about about him and what he is up to.
Fred Frith was a founding member of Henry Cow who, after moving to New York City in the 1970s, became involved with the same group of musicians as Bill Laswell. In addition to many solo albums, he worked with many projects such as Massacre, Skeleton Crew, Naked City and Keep The Dog. He has also written many pieces for dance, film and the theater.
Charles Hayward has been playing drums since the late 1960s in bands such as Quiet Sun, Dolphin Logic, Gong, This Heat, and Camberwell Now and has released numerous solo recordings.
Further info:
Contact Percy Howard at percyandi@ulink.net.
Thanks to woj for work on this entry.
