The Fringe

Renowned for his respected teaching role at Berklee along with adaptable skills as an improviser, tenor saxophonist George Garzone established the Fringe with bassist Richard Appleman and drummer Bob Gullotti to create a dedicated space for open-ended improvisation. The founding lineup issued three albums on their Ap-Gu-Ga label, whose name drew from the opening letters of the members’ surnames, across the span of 1978-82. John Lockwood had taken over on bass for the band’s fourth and, to date, last release on that imprint in 1986. Retaining this personnel, the group produced subsequent sessions for Popular Arts in 1989 and Soul Note in 1992. The Fringe has sustained solid local interest throughout the Boston area and endures today as an intermittent ensemble.