Fra Fra Big Band first performed in Amsterdam in 1990 as a special feature, to celebrate the Afro-Caribbean jazz band Fra Fra Sound’s 10th anniversary. Accomplished musicians from several European countries were added to the original Fra Fra Sound septet, augmenting the formation to seventeen players.

Fra Fra Big Band’s uncommonly inspiring, gravelly and tight sound turned the anniversary tour into a raving success, and the members decided to continue playing together. This decision - ‘Fra Fra Big Band are here to stay’, is vividly expressed in the title of their first CD: ‘A Tan So!, a Surinam phrase signifying ‘It’s a deal!’

The basis of Fra Fra’s musical concept is laid by the fluid, yet forceful rhythms of the 3-man percussion section: drums, conga’s and a wide variety of percussion instruments.
The Afro-Caribbean pulse of the music, embodying not only kaseko rhythms but also salsa and American gospel, is a lovely blend of passion and indolence, delivered with great ease by the excellent rhythm section, formed by a pulsating bass, piano and guitar.
The musical edifice is inspired by contemporary American and European music, modern urban music from West-Africa (high-life from Ghana), spirituals and gospel. To this characteristic sound is added an extra sparkle by the functional solo/excursions and improvisations.
A great deal of tempo changes and nicely timed breathing spaces take the shape of elevated, sometimes slightly dissonant musings. A Tan So, Fra Fra Big Band’s first CD, is a registration of the concert in the Amsterdam BIM-Huis in May 1992, in the course of their second tour of Holland. It is plain why this second tour was met with the same enthusiasm as their first series of performances: the professional skill with which the different musical influences are brought together is intensified by the obvious joy of playing together.
The result is Fra Fra’s own particular brand of intelligent, but passionate music, scorching Afro-Caribbean jazz!

It’s the design of the LUCHO label to present varieties of music, currently topical in Ibero/Latino regions.
Consequently, many different kinds of music are represented, and this diversity is still increasing. Sometimes, however, the combination of different styles produces unexpected results.
When we released Fra Fra Sound’s CD, Kalinha’s Serenade’, we were already pleasantly surprised by their specific Afro-Caribbean approach to contemporary jazz,
You can imagine our thrill at listening to the 17-man Fra Fra Big Band mix the very characteristic Surinam rhythms, like Kawina and Kaseko, with contemporary big band arrangements, as used by e.g. Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton and Dizzy Gillespie.
The result is a singular variety of Afro-Caribbean Jazz, eminently suitable for listening, but certainly also inviting to dance - in short, it’s party time!
This highly original blend of musical styles is actually a reflection of the line-up. Fra Fra Big Band’s members are an illustrious group of international stature: Jamaicans from London, Antilleans, Surinamese, Afro-Americans and Dutch.
For this production we opted for a ‘live recording’, as the concert, recorded in the Amsterdam jazz temple ‘BIM-Huis’, not only reflects Fra Fra Big Band’s unique timbre, but also the special relationship with the audience that the band enters into during concerts.
Hoping that, listening to A Tan So, you’ll experience the same joy and exhilaration as the audience during the splendid BIM-Huis gig. I heartily recommend to you the first Fra Fra Big Band CD
Ab de Jong