Fra Fra Sound

Although not as well known in the United States as they are in parts of Western Europe, Fra Fra Sound is a Dutch jazz institution and has been active in the Netherlands since the early '80s. Fra Fra has also recorded as the Fra Fra Big Band, which is essentially Fra Fra Sound with more musicians and an expanded, more elaborate lineup. But whether they're calling themselves Fra Fra Sound or the Fra Fra Big Band, the Amsterdam-based outfit has a reputation for being adventurous, unpredictable, and risk-taking. Fra Fra's specialty is a blend of jazz and world music -- especially African, Caribbean, and Latin music. And when it comes to jazz influences, the band is all over the place. They've been influenced by hard bop; some of their arrangements recall Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers' classic Blue Note recordings of the '50s and '60s. But post-bop, modal jazz, fusion and jazz-funk have affected them as well; Fra Fra also brings to mind everyone from John Coltrane, Horace Silver, McCoy Tyner, and Abdullah Ibrahim (aka Dollar Brand), to Weather Report, Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, and Spyro Gyra. Because of the Caribbean influences, Sonny Rollins (who is famous for combining hard bop and calypso) is another obvious comparison. And whatever type of jazz they're being influenced by -- be it hard bop, modal post-bop, fusion or soul-jazz -- Fra Fra Sound and the Fra Fra Big Band always bring some type of world music influence to their albums (many of which have been easier to find in Western Europe than in North America). Fra Fra Sound was founded by bassist/producer Vincent Henar in Amsterdam in 1980, and he has been their leader ever since. Henar got the name Fra Fra from the Surinamese language, which is spoken in the South American country of Suriname...