Don Friedman - Circle Waltz

barabara sounds sez:

I recently dusted this gem off again and was reminded h

ow excellent it is. Friedman's bad luck was to follow and forever be in the shadow of Bill Evans. But this set on Riverside was well received over this side of the pond (it got a record of the year award here back in 1962), and he still visits from time to time. With Israels and LaRoca backing him — apart from one solo track (So In Love) — it really is an underappreciated overlooked gem. I'm obviously not the only one either: the amazon review below really revs it up (while inevitably Yawno damns it with faint praise).

dusty sez:

A great little set from Friedman – a vastly underrated pianist who's working here as a bright young modernist in a trio with Chuck Israels on bass and Pete LaRoca on drums. The tracks have a freedom that reminds us a lot of Bill Evans' early work, with a warm lyricism that never gets too hokey – yet isn't afraid to show itself in Friedman's original compositions.

an amazon customer sez:

If Evans is Matisse, Don Friedman is Kandinsky. The album is nearly uniform in its intensity and inventiveness, but the title track, Circle Waltz, stands out. Compare it to Evans' Gloria's Step and Re: Someone I Know. All these songs seem to paint a picture of the city and modernity that a jazz piano alone could have captured.

AMG (scott yawno) sez:

Even ignoring that bassist Chuck Israels is on this set and the similarity of some of the repertoire, it is difficult to overlook the fact that pianist Don Friedman sounds very similar to Bill Evans. With drummer Pete LaRoca completing the trio and such songs as "I Hear a Rhapsody," "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "So In Love" joining four of the leader's originals, Friedman uses chord voicings similar to Evans and engages in the same type of close interplay with his sidemen.

tracks:
Circle Waltz;

Sea's Breeze; I Hear A Rhapsody; In Your Own Sweet Way; Loves Parting; So In Love; Modes Pivoting

personnel:

Don Friedman piano; Chuck Israels bass; Pete La Roca drums.