Fred Ho Gets Very Serious on "Big Red!"

Fred Ho is a composer-instrumentalist-bandleader with a complex attitude toward his Chinese-Asian ancestry, the homeland and its contemporary historical stance, the Afro-American culture from which his music in part derives, and commercial culture in general and of America in particular. I won't begin to try and describe that attitude, except to say that his music reflects the multiplicity of factors that go into who he is today. Big Red! (Innova 794), the latest in a series of albums by his various big band appellations, in this case the Afro Asian Music Ensemble, has less of the very personal versions of iconic pop-rock American material (see the reviews of some his other recent albums in this blog for that), but much in the way of incorporating traditional Chinese and other Asian musical elements, the jazz tradition in general and the Afro-African heritage anyone playing this music taps into, whether in a fully aware way or no.

What's especially good about that is not the sheer fact that he does it. It's how he pulls off the synthesis in very original musical ways. For this is music of much originality and sophistication--and the kind of power that goes far to making Big Red! an album of considerable interest.

I will not go into a lot of detail today. I will only say that Fred Ho's big band music is essential to this decade. Big Red! is one of the very best of his recent work. So go ahead and get it without any trepidation or hesitation, if you are so inclined. It's a good one.

Fred Ho and the Green Monster Big Band: "Year of the Tiger" A Reason to Celebrate

Fred Ho's Green Monster Big Band is something else, no doubt about it. Take some of the hottest players around (Bobby Zankel, Salim Washington, Stanton Davis, Taylor Ho Bynum, Mary Halvorson, and on from there), put together wacky but convincing big band charts covering everything from "The Johnny Quest Theme," Michael Jackson, Hendrix, interesting original charts, what sounds like Chinese social realism, all with a seriousness that at the same time has a kind of irony that typically is part of Mr. Ho's way of proceeding.

It stands up as original big band sounds and as Fred Ho sounding very much like Fred Ho. That is Year of the Tiger (Innova 789). It's hot, it's nutty and it's very much of today.

Fred Ho and the Green Monster Big Band

Fred Ho always seems to be up to something interesting. He is a very talented jazz composer and he plays reeds in a very compelling way. So when he formed the Green Monster Big Band, populated it with stellar players like Bobby Zankel, Salim Washington, Stanton Davis, Taylor Ho Bynam, Earl MacIntyre (my apologies for leaving some out on this listing. . . not enough space), then fronts the big band with his baritone and his compositions and arrangements, well, you know something is a'bound to be happening. And with this debut album Celestial Green Monster (Mutable Music), there certainly is!

First off, there's a sense of humor. To start off with rousing versions of the "Spiderman Theme" and "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is a touch of brilliance but also of whimsy. And perhaps the most funny thing about it is that the music completely works! Kudos, by the way, to Mary Halverson and her guest guitar solo on the Iron Butterfly icon.

The CD goes on from there for some more "serious" music. We hear powerful renditions of three Fred Ho charts, one a long and ambitious "The Struggle for a New World Suite."

This is important modern big band music, superbly performed. I hope there are lots more releases from them. But even with this first, there is another feather in Fred Ho's very hip hat.