Fred Ho
Fred Ho's prodigious gifts as a jazz composer were equaled (and augmented) by his drive to effect social change. Ho's leftist leanings informed virtually every piece of music he wrote, often by means of clumsily written agitprop lyrics. The results could be humorous and/or moving, but were more often than not simply leaden. Ignore the heavy-handed preaching, however, and Ho was a sensitive and imaginative composer who learned the lessons of Duke Ellington and applied them to post-Coltrane jazz. Ho received his B.A. in Sociology from Harvard in 1979. In 1982, as Fred Houn (he later changed his name), the composer founded the Afro-Asian Music Ensemble, with which he recorded Tomorrow Is Now! (1986) for the Soul Note label. During the '80s and '90s, he would also lead and record his Asian-American Art Ensemble and his Monkey Orchestra. Fred Ho died of cancer at his home in Brooklyn on April 12, 2014; his résumé had become filled with grants, fellowships, residencies, and awards, to say nothing of his considerable activities as a community activist.
© Chris Kelsey /TiVo
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Discography
13 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Deadly She-Wolf Assassin at Armageddon! / Momma's Song (Fred Ho)
Jazz - Released by Innova on Apr 5, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Year of the Tiger (Fred Ho)
Jazz - Released by Innova on Jan 4, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Orchestra Underground: X10D
Fred Ho, Evan Ziporyn, Ned McGowan, Seth Josel, Todd Reynolds
Classical - Released by American Composers Orchestra on May 28, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Monkey: Part One (alternate mix)
Fred Ho And The Monkey Orchestra
Jazz - Released by Big Red Media on Sep 24, 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Warrior Sisters: A New American Opera
Jazz - Released by Big Red Media on May 18, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Yes Means Yes, No Means No, Whatever She Wears, Wherever She goes!
Fred Ho And The Afro Asian Jazz Ensemble
Jazz - Released by Big Red Media on Sep 15, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Song For Manong ( The Soundtrack To Part 3 Of Bamboo That Snaps Back)
Fred Ho Featuring The Asian American Art Ensemble And Kulintang Arts
Jazz - Released by Big Red Media on Jan 1, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Snake-Eaters
Fred Ho, the Saxophone Liberation Front
Jazz - Released by Big Red Media - Mutable Music on Oct 25, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Sweet Science Suite
Fred Ho, the Green Monster Big Band
Jazz - Released by Big Red Media - Mutable Music on Oct 1, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Monkey: Part Two (alternate mix)
Fred Ho And The Monkey Orchestra
Jazz - Released by Big Red Media on Oct 21, 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Voice OF The Dragon (alternate mix)
Jazz - Released by Big Red Media on May 22, 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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When The Real Dragons Fly!
Classical - Released by American Composers Orchestra on Jun 8, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo