Live Improvisations

Live Improvisations is a 1992^[a] collaborative live album of improvised music by English experimental musicians Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson.^[7] It was recorded in May 1990 in England and was released on Woof Records in the United Kingdom and Megaphone Records in the United States.^[5]

Live Improvisations
Live album by Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson
Released	1992 (1992)[a]
Recorded	May 1990
Venue	London, Sheffield, Leeds Bridge End
Genre	Experimental music, free improvisation
Length	52:48
Label	Woof (UK) Megaphone (US)
Producer	Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson
Fred Frith chronology
Dropera (1991) Live Improvisations (1992) Helter Skelter (1992)

Background

Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson's first performance together was when they supplied music for a dance recital in 1968 while they were students at Cambridge University. They had never played together before and Frith said "[Tim] had an alto sax, and I had my violin, and we just improvised this ghastly screaming noise for about half an hour."^[8] Surprised by their performance, and to keep the momentum going, Frith and Hodgkinson formed a band, which went on to become the English avant-rock group Henry Cow.^[8]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]

Writing in a review at AllMusic, Rick Anderson described the improvisations of Frith and Hodgkinson on this album as "cacophonic", but added that "none of it is ugly; in fact, much of it is downright lovely".^[7] Anderson rated the album as "[h]ighly recommended".^[7]

Track listing

All tracks are untitled, composed by Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson, and performed in England.

Track	Venue	Date	Length
1.	Club Integral, Conway Hall, London	12 May 1990	33:20
2.	Purcell Room, London	13 May 1990	2:08
3.	Purcell Room, London	13 May 1990	1:17
4.	Purcell Room, London	13 May 1990	3:13
5.	George IV, Infirmary Road, Sheffield	10 May 1990	8:23
6.	Termite Club, The Adelphi, Leeds Bridge End	11 May 1990	4:27

Source: Discogs,^[5] Fred Frith discography.^[2]

Personnel

• Fred Frith – guitar, violin, vocals
• Tim Hodgkinson – keyboards, alto saxophone, clarinet

Source: Discogs,^[5] Fred Frith discography.^[2]

Recording notes

All tracks recorded by Michael Gerzon.

• Track 1 recorded on a 4-track
• Tracks 2, 3 and 4 recorded on a DAT
• Tracks 5 and 6 recorded on a Sony Professional

Source: Discogs.^[5]

Footnotes

1. This album appears to have been released in 1992,^[1][2][3] even though the liner notes say "All music copyright Hodgkinson/Frith 1990",^[4] and several sources list the release date as 1990.^[5][6]

References

1. Hodgkinson, Tim. "Discography". Tim Hodgkinson homepage. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
2. Ramond, Michel; Roussel, Patrice; Vuilleumier, Stephane. "Discography of Fred Frith". New York Downtown Scene and Other Miscellaneous Discographies. Archived from the original on 19 June 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
3. C. Rizzi (1998). Enciclopedia della musica rock. 2. 1970 – 1979. Giunti Editore. p. 266. ISBN 978-88-09-21523-8.
4. Frith, Fred; Hodgkinson, Tim (1992). Live Improvisations (vinyl). London: Woof.
5. "Live Improvisations". Discogs. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
6. "Live Improvisations". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
7. Anderson, Rick. Live Improvisations at AllMusic. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
8. "Fred Frith interview". BBC Music. Archived from the original on 15 February 2006. Retrieved 31 May 2013.