Fred Frith

Fred Frith can look back on a career as a musician and composer spanning almost 50 years. Although he is best known as a pioneering electric guitarist and improviser, he has remained true to his roots in rock and folk music with bands such as Henry Cow, Art Bears, Massacre, Skeleton Crew, the Fred Frith Guitar Quartet and most recently Cosa Brava. Fred’s compositions have been performed by ensembles such as the Arditti Quartet, Ensemble Modern, Concerto Köln and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

His film scores include the acclaimed documentaries Rivers and Tides and Touch the Sound by Thomas Riedelsheimer, The Tango Lesson and Yes by Sally Potter, Werner Penzel’s Zen for Nothing and the award-winning (and Oscar-nominated) Last Day of Freedom by Nomi Talisman and Dee Hibbert-Jones.
Fred has also created an impressive catalog of dance music, collaborating with Rosalind Newman and Bebe Miller in New York, François Verret in France and Amanda Miller in Germany. Hundreds of his recordings have been released on Tzadik, Intakt, Winter & Winter, ReR and his own label Fred Records. Fred is the protagonist of Nicolas Humbert and Werner Penzel’s Step Across the Border, recognized by Cahiers du Cinéma as one of the most influential films of the 20th century.

He is currently Professor of Composition at Mills College in Oakland, California, and Professor of Improvisation at the Basel Music Academy.