Customer Reviews

Circwaltz

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How exciting it is to discover a 50's to 60's jazz pianist that drew on the influence of Bill Evans, but created music that was fresh and distinct from that of his more well-known peer. 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.

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 on this CD reissue. 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. However, since the music is of high quality and few other keyboardists sounded like Evans this early, the CD is worth picking up by post-bop collectors.

Although the thought of paying thirty bucks for just over forty minutes of music will probably dissuade many jazz lovers from purchasing this XRCD release, I must point out that this is quite a musically satisfying release from a group that many jazz lovers may never have heard of before. Circle Waltz was originally recorded in May, 1962, by the trio of Don Friedman on piano, Chuck Israels on bass, and Pete La Roca on drums. The style is somewhat reminiscent of the Bill Evans trios, but with more emphasis on swinging. If you like Bill Evans, you will probably really enjoy this CD.