How wonderful to play a duo concert with Fred Frith after a year on the road. Fred is both my longest musical collaborator and my longest continuous friendship. We first met and played together in 1978, which would be nearly 40 years ago. Fred plays on my very first record, Getting A Head, released on the Rift Label which Fred started and then invited me to join. My first trip to Central America was actually a mission for Rift, with the idea of releasing an LP of Central American music as a fundraiser for the revolutionary movements there. That trip changed my life. Voice of America, which was also a collaboration with Fred (and Phil Minton), was my last release before immersing myself in the Central American movevments for a decade. Attention Span, my first recording after all of that, was another collaboration with Fred (and John Zorn).

Anyone sensing a theme here? 😉

Fred has been a friend, mentor, collaborator, and inspiration. The only problem is I don’t see him as much as I would like these days, and definitely do not play with him as often as I would like. This concert was a reminder, as if I needed one, and what a treasure this guy is.

Many thanks to Benjamin Vengara for organizing everything in such a kind and thoughtful way, and to Paulina Rojas for being my facilitator of everything Chileno.

Sadly, I came away from Valdivia with no photos. If you have a nice picture of the show, please send it to me. 🙂

http://www.theholyfilament.cl/destacados/fred-frith-bob-ostertag-se-presentaran-en-valdivia/