David Friesen - Structures - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

(David Friesen is) one of the most eminent exponents of the instrument, he maintains an astonishing level of virtuosity. - LOS ANGELES TIMES. With decades of friendship uniting them, two towering figures in music and entrepreneurship - David Friesen, an acclaimed bassist and musical visionary for 50 years, and Bob Ravenscroft, pianist, maker of the Ravenscroft Grand Piano and a force in Arizona's cultural landscape, elected to surrender control to the musical spirits in creating their first duo recording. With just their instruments, wide open ears, and little forethought, musical themes unfold spontaneously as uncharted areas of harmonic and melodic viewpoints reveal themselves. Movement through the many brief InchtunesInch unveils a more expansive structure of sound, their harmonious synchronicity offering surprising musical moments along the way. Album Tracks 1. In the Place of Calling 2. Acceptance 3. Yielding 4. Obedience 5. Transition 6. Belief 7. Understanding 8. Challanged 9. Victory 10. Direction 11. Thankfulness 12. Temptation / Overcoming 13. Forward 14. Voyage 15. Awareness 16. Struggle 17. Stillness 18. Family 19. Looking Past 20. Journey 21. Faith 22. Commitment 23. Perserverance 24. Resolution 25. Prayer

Once in a great while, a musician emerges with such authority and such seemingly effortless originality that his place in the front ranks of his instrument is unquestioned. So it is with David Friesen. - Nat Hentoff. A major international jazz figure for over 50 years, bassist-composer David Friesen continues his unflagging process of creating new defining works, with the ambitious, expansive, and deeply personal musical explorations found on Testimony. Through the desire to better understand his Mother's Ukrainian heritage, and with inspired leg-work from his Czech-based assistant, Natalie Digtyar, Friesen found himself on a 2015 tour of family landmarks in Smila, Ukraine, fully researched and led by a television crew and the local historical museum. Meeting Oleksandr Pirozhenko, director of the National Academic Symphonic Band of Ukraine, set in motion the collaboration heard here, beginning with a sold-out 2016 InchhomecomingInch concert in Smila's Concert Hall, followed by this live recording from Kiev's National Philharmonic Hall in December, 2018. Arrangements of Friesen's profoundly spiritual compositions unfold, offering passages exploding with orchestral grandeur alongside lone whispers from solo piano, vibes or bass, and intimate quartet vignettes, all reflecting the myriad emotions exposed through his journey of ancestral discovery. Album Tracks 1. Prelude 2. Still Waters 3. Meaningful 4. Distant Shores 5. Tribute 6. Sequence 7. Another Time, Another Place 8. Time Never Ends 9. Deep South Blues 10. My Faith, My Life 11. Make Believe 12. New Ballad 13. Sailing 14. Going Forth 15. Pumpkin 16. New Hope 17. Lament for the Lost/Procession

Creating sublime musical structures over the last five decades, where risk-taking, rhythmic rapport, and giving of oneself to the music are the essence, legendary bassist David Friesen's music continues to reach new pinnacles of profound expression. On disc one, his long-touring, closely knit trio with saxophonist Joe Manis and drummer Charlie Doggett went into a Portland studio to record 13 new works by Friesen. Disc Two, with Manis and Australia-based drummer, Reuben Bradley, is a bristling live performance from Vienna's Porgy & Bess jazz club during their Spring 2019 European tour. Thriving on selfless awareness and their uncanny compatibility, the trio's joyful interactions offer surprise, beauty, and depth at every turn. Album Tracks 1. Neves 2. Cross Fire 3. Sequence 4. Flight of the Angels 5. New Tune Blue 6. Exclusively Yours 7. 1969 Rolls Royce 8. In House 9. Interaction 10. Soft As Silk 11. Skip Trip 12. No Dollars, No Cents 13. Evening Spring 14. Song for Tristan 15. Flight of the Angels 16. Skip Trip 17. Going Forth 18. At Last, at Rest 19. Off Center 20. Distant Shores 21. Basic Strategy 22. My Faith My Life