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This month marks the opening of Renee and Richard Schroeder’s newest venture, Basils Trattoria. I’ll be playing there on Thursdays, while still holding down Fridays at their other fine restaurant, Sweet Basils.

On Jan. 5 Allison King, Bill Jordan, and myself will rock the house for an opening party! For more information, call 333-9833.

During the next sixty days I’ll be finishing up one recording project (Ancient Phrases) and beginning another one with Melissa Reaves. Additionally, my good friend Neil Clegg and I will be teaching a new course, “The Ten Greatest Pop Songs of the Last Fifty Years” at Greensboro College on Monday nights. The semester begins January 13, and we are opening up this course to the public for a reduced rate, so please call the school at 336-272-7102, ext. 262, and sign up! This will be a new approach to teaching – Neil and I will essentially be talking about these songs in an improvisational fashion, and we will be performing different versions of the songs and explaining musical devices as they pertain to popular music. The course number to register for is Mus 4500: Special Topics in Music, The Ten Greatest Pop Songs of the Past Fifty Years.
This month’s album spotlight is The Foxbourne Chronicles. If you don’t already own a copy of this, please visit my store and order one.

Foxbourne Chronicles

The Foxbourne Chronicles is the forward thinking collaboration of pianist/composer Dave Fox and banjoist, guitarist Eugene Chadbourne. This eclectic set was recorded in 2005 in Greensboro, North Carolina on the campus of Greensboro College. With the exception of Chadbourne's out of place vocal rendition of Nick Drake’s “One of These Things First,” the disc has a continuous flow with a highly improvised, yet sonically connected pace.

Fox’s compositions are inventive without relying on melodic cliché or imposed harmony. His three movement “Sonata for Banjo and Piano (Quasi-Improvised),” the centerpiece of the disc, is comprised of short, unpredictable twists and turns. Each minimally contrived section takes the listener through unexpected ventures in modern improvised music. Fox tips his hat to Bill Evans on “Secret Love,” a solo rendering that reveals the pianist’s commanding technique and sensitive touch.

Chadbourne, who is not your grandfather’s type of banjo player, takes full advantage of the tonal and rhythmic capabilities of his instrument. He plucks, pulls, scrapes, and bends to create highly atypical timbres. He proves himself to be an acute musical partner responding intuitively to Fox’s musical prodding. The Foxbourne Chronicles is honest, fresh music conceived in an era occupied with blandness and imitation. Hopefully these two musical soul mates will have more to say in the years to come.

Dave Fox GroupWelcome to the website of Dave Fox and the Dave Fox Group.

This site is dedicated to informing you about my music whether it be solo, group, or related projects. To purchase one of my recordings, please visit my Store. For upcoming performances, click on Shows.

 

"Fox’s approach on keyboards places the music squarely in the creative improvised sector and is anything but a compromise to popularity. He produces a plethora of diverse keyboard sounds; his attack is fully liberated, and his solos are well-designed, spontaneous outpourings." -
Cadence, August 2004
By Frank Rubolino

 

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