Fred Thomas

Here is Johann Sebastian Bach in transfigured light: with organ chorale preludes, vocal cantata movements and orchestral sinfonias – 24 pieces in all – transcribed for trio and solo piano by Fred Thomas, and threaded into a compelling new sequence by Manfred Eicher. On Three Or One, Bach’s idiom is respectfully explored by three innovative players, a process Thomas describes as “quietly joyful,” and the trio pieces, primarily drawn from Bach’s Orgelbüchlein, acquire a fresh character in the hands of Kazakh violinist Aisha Orazbayeva and British cellist Lucy Railton, musicians more often associated with contemporary composition’s cutting edge.

Vocalist and violinist Alice Zawadzki, pianist Fred Thomas (who also plays the vielle and drums here) and bassist Misha Mullov-Abbado present a rare alchemy on their trio debut, fusing folk idioms from a multitude of sources with free flowing interplay and fluid structures. Inhabiting their own stylistic realm, the trio encompasses folk song, chamber music, improvisation and acoustic jazz, and on Za Górami they present the full span of their reach in a mesmerizing whole. Ladino traditionals are heard alongside striking renditions of Gustavo Santaolalla’s “Suéltate Las Cintas” and Simón Díaz’s “Tonada De Luna Llena”. The title-lending Polish traditional “Za Górami” is performed in a poignant interpretation by Zawadzki and the Renaissance piece “Je Suis Trop Jeunette” finds a kindred spirit in Fred Thomas’s monody-inspired setting of James Joyce’s in “Gentle Lady”. The album was recorded at the Auditorio Stelio Molo in Lugano and produced by Manfred Eicher.

Vocalist and violinist Alice Zawadzki, pianist Fred Thomas (who also plays the vielle and drums here) and bassist Misha Mullov-Abbado present a rare alchemy on their trio debut, fusing folk idioms from a multitude of sources with free flowing interplay and fluid structures. Inhabiting their own stylistic realm, the trio encompasses folk song, chamber music, improvisation and acoustic jazz, and on Za Górami they present the full span of their reach in a mesmerizing whole. Ladino traditionals are heard alongside striking renditions of Gustavo Santaolalla’s “Suéltate Las Cintas” and Simón Díaz’s “Tonada De Luna Llena”. The title-lending Polish traditional “Za Górami” is performed in a poignant interpretation by Zawadzki and the Renaissance piece “Je Suis Trop Jeunette” finds a kindred spirit in Fred Thomas’s monody-inspired setting of James Joyce’s in “Gentle Lady”. The album was recorded at the Auditorio Stelio Molo in Lugano and produced by Manfred Eicher.

A Time To Remember is a continuation of the special synergy that inhabited Elina Duni’s acclaimed Lost Ships and finds her regrouping with that album’s quartet of guitarist Rob Luft, Matthieu Michel on flugelhorn and Fred Thomas on percussion and piano. As the title suggests, the notion of ‘time’ pulls through the programme like a theme, connecting music from different parts of the world – traditionals, popular songs and original compositions – in performances of deep lyricism but also fleet-footed folklore. The repertory spans Albanian and Kosovan traditionals, American songs like the Broadway classic “I’ll Be Seeing You” and Stephen Sondheim’s musical ballad “Send In The Clowns” as well as originals by Rob and Elina. Commenting on the group’s last effort, Jazzwise said that “the sum of Duni and Luft’s work together seems greater than their individual achievements, where concept and conceptualisation have combined to produce a classic.” A Time To Remember should confirm that proposition and further expands on the qualities explored previously.

Dancer, actor, and singer Fred Astaire worked steadily in various entertainment media during nine decades of the 20th century. The most celebrated dancer in the history of film, with appearances in 31 movie musicals between 1933 and 1968 (and a special Academy Award in recognition of his accomplishments in them), Astaire also danced on-stage and on television (garnering two Emmy Awards in the process), and he even treated listening audiences to his accomplished tap dancing on records and on his own radio series. He appeared in another eight non-musical feature films and on numerous television programs, resulting in an Academy Award nomination and a third Emmy Award as an actor. His light tenor voice and smooth, conversational phrasing made him an ideal interpreter for the major songwriters of his era, and he introduced dozens of pop standards, many of them written expressly for him, by such composers as Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Burton Lane, Frank Loesser, Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, Arthur Schwartz, Harry Warren, and Vincent Youmans.