Bio
Ron Cody - 5-string banjo player, was raised in Andover, Connecticut, where he began studying banjo at the age of 15. An eager student, his teachers included Michael Kropp and Tony Trischka. He was a member of the Connecticut-based group Grass Avenue and The Robin Kincaid Band with Stacey Phillips. In 1992 he formed Fretwater and has recorded two CDs with the group performing music from contemporary jazz and folk music influences. He is a member of the New England Bluegrass Band. He has taught banjo in bluegrass, Irish and jazz styles and is an endorser for the Mockingbird Music Company, as he plays a Mockingbird custom banjo. Ron also plays a gibson mastertone TB-3 conversion archtop. He lives with his wife Wendy and their three sons Ryan, Kris and Jonny in Yarmouth, Maine.
Fretwater Bio
Ron Cody - leader, 5-string banjo
David Miller - acoustic bass, electric bass
Frank Varela - electric guitar
Keith Mallory - drums, percussion
Their music is so different that reviewers, producers and fans cannot describe its style. Jazz-Grass? Banjo-Fusion? Eclectic-Electric? Regardless of a niche, everyone does agree that the four-man group known as Fretwater serves up a delicious blend of great music.
Indeed, Fretwater’s music is as fresh and different as each of the tunes they play — tunes that tell stories of life. And what stories the music of Fretwater can tell! Stories like: “Ryan’s Waltz,” a tune capturing the joy of a new father; “Silver Bear,” a celebration of a friend’s son winning his ‘Silver Bear’ cub scout badge, or “Muffin,” written minutes after a motorcycle ride on a brisk New England day. In fact, one of the group’s tunes, “It Happened So Fast,” will be featured as part of the soundtrack for the movie, Against The Tide, to be released in 1998. Each piece that Fretwater plays is a celebration of the simple joys of life, created by a group of musicians who are masters of their art.
“Music is my driving force,” says Fretwater’s founder and leader, Ron Cody. Cody studied with one of the top banjo players in the world, Tony Trischka, who has now produced Fretwater’s latest CD. Today, Cody is a banjo virtuoso in his own right and was recently profiled in Banjo Newsletter. An artist endorser for the Deering Banjo Company, he is a professional musician with almost 20 years of experience, and the composer of each tune on the CD. His banjo is the creative conduit behind the musical stories. Cody balances his professional life with that of being a husband and a father of two boys. His life and his music reflect each other. “I hear music all around me as I live my life,” he says, quickly adding, “but it is the guys in this band that make those melodies I hear come alive.”
The other members of Fretwater include: guitarist, Frank Varela; bassist, David Miller; and drummer, Keith Mallory. Each musician adds his talent and background to create the uniqueness of Fretwater’s music.
• Varela, who studied at Berklee College of Music, is a guitarist influenced by diverse musicians from John Coltrane to Jimi Hendrix. With 30 years experience, he transforms musically to fit the style of each piece.
• Miller, a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, lays down the foundation for the band, supporting the music’s harmonies.
• Mallory, a professional drummer who has worked with recording artists Roy Clark, Tanya Tucker and Reba McEntire, is a self-professed “road dog,” who has traveled the world teaching and performing.
Together, the musicians listen to the melodies by Cody and arrange their own parts to create each song. “None of the tunes are ever really finished,” explains Miller. “The music is constantly being updated, picking up changes as we change ourselves.” And that, he says, is what makes the music so fresh. “It changes from performance to performance.”
Mallory agrees. “Our tunes are not three-chord wonders,” he says. “I still enjoy listening to it — weekly. The music is personal. When we play together, it’s like putting on an old pair of shoes. We play for each other and the listeners. It’s a hoot! Pure joy.”
Formed in 1992, Fretwater quickly established itself in the local community of Hartford, Connecticut, and was soon playing to standing-ovation crowds at venues throughout New England. With the 1997 release of their second CD, Balance, Fretwater is creating a niche in the musical world — no matter what style they play.
Member Bios
Ron Cody - leader, 5-string banjo, was raised in Andover, Connecticut, where he began studying banjo at the age of 15. An eager student, his teachers included Michael Kropp and Tony Trischka. He was a member of the Connecticut-based group Grass Avenue and The Robin Kincaid Band with Stacey Phillips. In 1992 he formed Fretwater and has recorded two CDs with the group performing music from contemporary jazz and folk music influences. Ron has taught banjo in bluegrass, Irish and jazz styles and is an artist endorser for the Mockingbird Music Company. He currently lives with his wife Wendy and their three sons in Yarmouth, Maine.
Frank Varela - electric guitar, studied at the Berklee College of Music and has been a professional musician for 30 years. He teaches improvisation, music fundamentals and guitar technique at several universities in New England. With musical influences ranging from John Coltrane to Pat Metheny to Jimi Hendrix, Varela’s playing fits the mood of each Fretwater piece, seamlessly transforming into whatever musical style is required.
David Miller - acoustic bass, electric bass. Since wowing audiences at the age of four with his 1/8 size violin, Miller has covered a wide range of musical styles. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music in both music education and French horn performance, he is now focused on the electric bass as his primary instrument. Miller is the foundation for Fretwater’s progressive harmonies.
Keith Mallory - drums, percussion. At the age of three his father took him to a concert of the Count Basie Orchestra; he was hooked from then on. Performing in every style from rock to country to R&B to jazz, Mallory has toured internationally with many recording artists including: Reba McEntire, Tanya Tucker and Roy Clark. Also an educator, Mallory teaches percussion and drum clinics at colleges and high schools throughout the country. It is his “groove” that makes Fretwater audiences tap their toes.
What The Critics Are Saying...
“I have been impressed by the talents and creativity of the members of Fretwater. It is music for imaginative ears. Their compositions reflect their backgrounds. Influences of jazz, bluegrass and rock seamlessly weave their way throughout the pieces without overpowering the listener. One is reminded of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones when listening to the original compositions of Fretwater, but the music is their own with a distinctive, unique imprint. For an upbeat energetic audience, this is the ticket that sells seats.”
Stephan Allison - Executive Director, The Buttonwood Tree; Programmer, WPKN, Bridgeport, Connecticut
“A be-bopping combination of styles that is unafraid to experiment, even to the point of adding tweeting birdies on one song. … Pat Metheny and Jeff Beck inspired guitar lines, fast-finger bluegrass-style banjo playing and an infectious rhythm leave me no doubt that this band excels in the realm of original contemporary music. …”
Jayne Keedle - Music Reviewer, The Hartford Advocate
“Fretwater is an exciting new instrumental group that is quickly developing a reputation for creativity, performance and versatility.”
Dave Fry, Concert Presenter, Godfrey Daniels Concert Hall, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
“It’s clear that all the influence’s of jazz, classical, Irish, bluegrass and folk have been absorbed and utilized in Ron’s compositions. Fretwater is upbeat, energetic and dazzling.”
Arnold Greenberg - Concert Promoter, The Left Bank Cafe, Bluehill, Maine
“Ron has pushed the envelope of the idiom to incorporate sounds not associated with his instrument or traditional repertoire. He has taken harmonic material from both jazz and contemporary classical music and used them in a very personal way. The compositions that he is now writing reflect all his varied experiences. He is using the medium to create a new tonal palette.”
David Santoro - jazz bassist, Educator, University of Connecticut, Hartford, Connecticut
“I first met Ron when he was about 17, well scrubbed and earnest. He obviously was talented, and as the years went by, he developed into the fine, well-rounded banjoist he is today. Whether crossfired with drums, smoothly navigating his own creatively progressive compositions, or acoustically firing up a bluegrass standard with his own wide-ranging improvisational sorties, Ron can hit from all sides. Now put this guy out there and give him some room to run.”
Tony Trischka - Banjo recording artist, Fretwater producer
