PAPATAMUS REDUX

SELF PUBLISHED BOOK

Much like his bass playing and compositions, Joe Fonda’s recent autobiography, My Life in the World of Music, is straight-forward and compelling. It chronicles the journey of a young electric bassist infatuated with the rock, R&B and blues of the late 1960s and early 1970s to a mature acoustic bassist being named one of the five “Musicians of the Year 2022” by the New York City Jazz Record. Fonda admits in the opening sentence of his story that at a very young age he had a passion and longing to be part of this thing called music. Although the genre of music he gravitated to in his early years emulating the sound of Gerry and the Pacemakers may have changed, Fonda’s passion for the music has remained steady and strong throughout more than five decades of performing and recording. That passion was there in 1973 when he entered Berklee College of Music not knowing where the journey might take him. It was there when he was totally transfixed and transformed after hearing Deodata’s 2001; Space Odyssey as well as his first exposure to the music of Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz in 1974. The passion for modern jazz became stronger as he experienced the music of Pharoah Sanders, McCoy Tyner, Sam Rivers, Charles Mingus and others firsthand in Boston clubs. Meeting folks such as Wadada Leo Smith and Bobby Naughton at the Creative Musicians Improvisers Forum only intensified his curiosity and interest in the art of free improvisation. He refined that passion in rehearsal spaces, stages and recording studios with musical partners such as Michael Jefry Stevens, Harvey Sorgen, Mark Whitecage, Herb Robertson and a long list of other modern jazz artists. More recently, Fonda’s passion led him to be a member of some of today’s more forward-thinking and playing ensembles including Barry Altschul’s 3Dom Factor, Remedy (with Thomas Heberer and Joe Hertenstein), Origin (with Christophe Rocher and Harvey Sorgen) and Bass of Operation (with Michael Rabinowitz, Jeff Lederer and Harvey Sorgen). Joe Fonda: My Life in the World of Music shares these stories and more about a musician who longed to be part of this thing called music and will continue to be a definitive voice in it. That passion is best expressed in the closing line of his book — stay tuned.

Joe FondaL My Life in the World of Music is available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Life-World-Music-Mr-Fonda/dp/B0FSGJZTWY

BOTTOM LINE: Congratulations to bassist Joe Fonda for sharing his life and career in Joe Fonda: My Life in the World of Music. Like his playing and compositions, his autobiography is straight-forward and compelling. Readers will enjoy learning about his journey “to be part of this thing called music.”