| Artist | Cosa Brava |
|---|---|
| Cover | CosaBrava AlbumCover ZSides.webp |
| Released | September 23, 2024 |
| Recorded | March–May 2008, May 2012 |
| Genre | Experimental rock · free improvisation |
| Label | Klanggalerie (Austria) |
| Producer | Fred Frith |
| Prev year | 2012 |
Z Sides is a 2024 studio album by Fred Frith's United States experimental rock group Cosa Brava. It comprises a sound collage of extracts from live mixes of the band's musical improvisations performed on tour between March 2008 and May 2012.[1][2]
Background
Z Sides was conceived by The Norman Conquest (aka Norman Teale[3]), Cosa Brava's sound manipulator who created soundscapes for the group's music, and live mixes during their concerts.[3] Cosa Brava's live songs often contained segments of improvised music, and The Norman Conquest assembled a collection of extracts from these improvisations performed in concerts between March 2008 and their last European tour in May 2012. Using these extracts, Fred Frith and The Norman Conquest built a sound collage to create "an imaginary stand-alone performance"[1] that they called Z Sides.[2]
Reception
Cosa Brava's two previous albums were generally well received by critics,[4][5] with All About Jazz describing their music as "somewhere between folk, Celtic, modern chamber, Latin, funk, Eastern, and prog-rock".[4] Eyal Hareuveni at salt peanuts* noted that Z Sides is very different from Cosa Brava's two studio albums and their "genre-defying" songs. She wrote, "Z Sides distills and reimagines the infinite musical imagination of Cosa Brava and proves that beauty is indeed an elusive and strange thing."[2] A reviewer at Squidear wrote Z Sides "captures the group's dynamic interplay and remarkable inventiveness".[6]
Track listing
Source[1]
Personnel
- Fred Frith – guitar, bass guitar (2008), voice
- Matthias Bossi – drums, voice
- Carla Kihlstedt – violin, voice
- Zeena Parkins – keyboards, voice
- Shahzad Ismaily – bass guitar (2012)
- The Norman Conquest – creative live sound
Source[1]
Recording and production
- The Norman Conquest – concept, editing
- Fred Frith – editing, production, photography
- Lisa Robotka – layout
Source[1]
Recording locations
Improvisations used on this album were extracted from the following Cosa Brava concerts:[1]
- March 20, 2008 – 21 Grand, Oakland, California
- April 7, 2008 – Porgy and Bess, Vienna, Austria
- April 8, 2008 – Cankarjev Dom, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- April 9, 2008 – Teatro Fondamenta Nuove, Venice, Italy
- April 17, 2008 – Rote Fabrik, Zurich, Switzerland
- April 19, 2008 – AMR Jazz Club, Geneva, Switzerland
- May 16, 2008 – Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville (FIMAV), Victoriaville, Quebec
- May 11, 2012 – Hall Toll, Stavanger, Norway
- May 12, 2012 – Norrlandsopernmusicbox Black Box, Umeå, Sweden
- May 13, 2012 – Stadtgarten, Cologne, Germany
- May 14, 2012 – Tafelhalle, Nuremberg, Germany
- May 15, 2012 – Generalmusikdirektion, Graz, Austria
- May 16, 2012 – Progr, Turnhalle, Bern, Switzerland
- May 18, 2012 – Treibhaus, Innsbruck, Austria
- May 18, 2012 – The Moods, Zürich, Switzerland
- May 19, 2012 – Teatro San Leonardo, Bologna, Italy
References
- ^ Klanggalerie (September 23, 2024). Z Sides (CD liner notes)
- ^ Hareuveni, Eyal (October 10, 2024). "Cosa Brava: Z Sides". salt peanuts*. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
- ^ Gilbert, Andrew (December 12, 2008). "Every which way Experimentalist Fred Frith's Cosa Brava mixes multiple musical worlds". The Boston Globe. p. G.28. ISSN 0743-1791
- ^ Corroto, Mark (May 1, 2010). "Ragged Atlas". All About Jazz. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
- ^ "The Letter". AllMusic. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
- ^ "Z Sides". Squidear. Retrieved March 7, 2024.