David Friesen: A Light Shining Through

A rich tapestry of ideas both concise and drawn out are delivered by David Friesen, who plays the Hemage bass, piano and percussion with a mix and match team of saxist Joe Manis, percussionists Alex Fantaev & Charlie Dogget and the guest appearances of the Kyiv Mozart String Quartet. The sixteen pieces include a handful of pieces 5-6 minutes with strings such as the graceful “Softly Tells The Story” and A Light Shining Through” that include subtle percussion, sensitive reed work and lyrical bass lines, with Manis’ tenor majestic on the melodic “Staircase”. More concise material in the 1-2 minute range have festive tribal percussion s on “Blue and Red”, Middle Eastern grooves on “Time Through Light” and tropical textures on “Islands”. Friesen’s piano is stately on “Dressed In Red” and his bass tells a warm story on “Festival”. A musical mosaic that looks better each visit, and the further you stand back.

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