FROCK
"….Five musicians of the highest artistic quality…a great ability to make difficult music sound easy…what they play and sing makes a unique experience…" - From the Italian publication 'Il Corriere Laziale'.
Frock are five musicians bringing together years of performance and writing experience in to one ensemble. The group explores compositional forms and aesthetics from cultures as varied as Eastern Europe, Cuba, West Africa and Latin America. These influences are combined with passion, energy, and humor to form the unique hybrid that is Frock.
It is from Melbourne, a cross-cultural melting pot, that this ensemble has been born. Drawing on a wide range of musical and artistic influences and using atypical instrumentation, i.e. Piano Accordion and Vibraphone, the group creates a sound that is at once past, present and future. Traditional acoustic instruments meet their modern electric counterparts, classical European folk forms get a modern Jazz treatment, the lines dividing individual virtuosity and collective improvisation are released. Truly original music.. A unique sound experience.
In 1998, Frock released their debut CD "Caught Gesture", recorded at the ABC studios. An additional five tracks were recorded and have been regularly broadcast on Jim McLeod's JazzTrack (ABC FM). Frock performed at the Wangaratta Jazz Festival to rave reviews, and toured Sydney to critical acclaim in January 1999.
Following the release of "Caught Gesture", Frock performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and in other countries throughout Europe including Italy, Austria and Germany.
May of 2000 saw the release of Frock's 2nd CD, Tales of Olive Groves, also recorded at the ABC. The C.D. was entered for ARIA nomination by Newmarket music.
Frock has recently returned from its second European tour, which included performances in Switzerland (the Montreux Jazz Festival) and Germany, where the band recorded its 3rd. C.D. "Splash". On the way home to Melbourne, Frock stopped over in Singapore, where they gave three performances and two workshops, one at the La Salle College of the Arts, and one for the general public. The final concert was given in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, where they played before an audience of 4000 people.
In October 2000 Frock performed a sell-out concert as a sextet at "The Jazz Lab" featuring American Vibes and Marimba player Dave Samuels (Sypra Gyra, Yellow Jackets, Frank Zappa, Oscar Peterson and Pat Metheney to name a few of the groups he has played/recorded with).
In 2001 Frock has performed at " The Melbourne International Jazz Festival", celebrated their 4th. Birthday and were the only representative Australian band at the inaugural "Singapore International Jazz Festival" in May.
2002 has been a busy year for Frock, with a sell-out season at Bennetts Lane in April, and one-off gigs at The 9th Ward, The Rooftop Café, The Planet, Dizzy's, Kingston Arts Centre and The Loft. Frock has accepted an invitation to perform at the 2002 Wangaratta Jazz Festival. In July they released their 3rd CD "Splash" at The Jazz Lab. Already the recording has attracted much interest on radio both in Australia and abroad, with interviews on 3PBS and Radio International. Frock will do an eight day tour of South-East Asia in early 2003, and record again towards the end of the year.