Jazz
Contemporary Jazz
David Friesen (bass)
Jeff Gardner (piano)
Grace is a good duo session pairing bassist David Friesen with pianist Jeff Gardner. (It's comparable to Friesen's 1999 outing with Denny Zeitlin.) Friesen contributes only two originals: the title track and "Change of Heart," the latter featuring an extended bass solo. Most of the writing falls to Gardner, whose six tunes range from mid-tempo blues ("Blues for Hawk") to minor-key bossa ("Achados E Perdidos") to gospel/pop inflection ("Dad's Dream"). Gardner also takes an unaccompanied turn with "Preludio Para Rita." There's a standards component too: a bright, swinging "All the Things You Are" and a closing meditation on "My Funny Valentine." Recorded live in Belgium (there's no hint of audience response until the very end), the disc is hampered by a brittle piano sound and an excess of reverb, but the writing and playing are strong.
---David R. Adler, allmusic |
