At that time, and for a few years, I only listened to free jazz, or avant-garde jazz.
I really liked TOM CORA, and I was lucky enough to see him live the only time he played in Portugal.
I loved and only listened to music from MY FAV bands like Skeleton Crew, Skeleton Crew, Shockabilly, The WORK, Henry Cow, The Art Bears, Slappy Happy, Steve Beresford, Fred Frith, Kramer, Eugene Chadbourne, John Zorn, Butch Morris, Fred Frith, Samm Bennett, the excellent "virtual trio" band Third Person, The Ex, and formed The Hat Shoes with the forward's wife/vocalist Catherine Jauniaux, Henry Kaiser, Han Bennink, Derek Bailey, etc...
Tom Cora described himself as "a musician who happens to play cello."
That humble description belies the fury of his cello, but points to the overall musicality and excellence that he demonstrated as a musician.
A seminal figure in the early downtown NY scene of the 70's Cora played with seemingly everyone of note, both in and around that scene.
His early work had him playing with Lee Konitz and Don Cherry.
He then formed the band Curlew with George Cartwright and Bill Laswell, arguably that band's best period.
Moving to Manhattan in 1979 he fell in with artists like Steve Beresford, Fred Frith, Kramer, Eugene Chadbourne, John Zorn, and Butch Morris, and Fred Frith created the incredible band Skeleton Crew, and with Samm Bennett the excellent "virtual trio" band Third Person. He collaborated with the Dutch band The Ex, and formed The Hat Shoes with wife/avant vocalist Catherine Jauniaux.
With Phil Minton he formed the unusual band Roof which toured the European avant/free- improv scene to acclaim (and continues to under the name "4 Walls."
His untimely death from melanoma robbed the world of a tremendous musician, a charismatic and vigorous player who is still missed.
Amazing band that ended far too early in their creative cycle due to the early demise of Tom Cora. The band continued as 4Walls, but the recordings under the name Roof remain stellar achievements.
ROOF - Trace (1999) - Live At Bremen and Amsterdam 1997
Tom Cora - cello
Luc Ex - bass
Phil Minton - vocals
Michael Vatcher - drums
1999, Free Jazz, Alternative Rock, Avantgarde
Skeleton Crew: The disassembled body
Frith + Tom Cora + Zeena Parkins.
Albums: Learn to Talk (1984), The Country of Blinds (1986).
A trio that sounded like a broken orchestra
The Work: formed in 1980 by Tim Hodgkinson (ex-Henry Cow) and Bill Gilonis, with Mick Hobbs and Rick Wilson.
It is one of the most radical bands of the post-Rock in Opposition era:
Slapp Happy: the bridge to lyrical absurdity
Frith joins via Henry Cow; Desperate Straights (1975) is the fusion point. Mutant chamber pop
The Ex: political friction and angular dance
Frith collaborated with The Ex on performances and recordings, especially during the period when the band expanded its vocabulary to free improvisation and Ethiopian music.
Militant Energy + Articulated Noise
Shockabilly and Post-Punk Chaos
In the 80s he led the band Shockabilly with Mark Kramer and David Licht, creating a hybrid of destroyed rock, psychedelia, noise, and mutant country.
They made four absolutely unpredictable albums.
R.S. Moore: the enigma, the agitator, the archivist of the absurd. A semi-hidden figure in the British experimental scene.
John Zorn: the New York axis of fragmentation. Frith is a key piece in Naked City, The Art of Memory, and numerous Tzadik formations.
Kramer — the surrealist lo-fi axis. Kramer (Shimmy-Disc) appears as a recurring collaborator of Frith.
Tape textures, collages, acid humor.
Chadbourne is a chaotic satellite orbiting Frith, Zorn, Bailey, and Bennink.
The collaboration with Fred Frith on The English Channel (1979) is one of the strongest points of contact — post-apocalyptic Americana, improvisation, and dark humor.