Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » David Friesen: Day Of Rest

David Friesen: Day Of Rest

By Dan McClenaghan
November 5, 2021
View read count

Boasting a forty-year career in music, bassist & composer David Friesen found a home at Origin Records in 2014, with his Where The Light Falls, featuring his Circle 3 Trio and guest guitarist

Larry Koonse

guitar, electric

" data-original-title="" title="">Larry Koonse. He has, in the ensuing years, created his finest art for the label, mostly in small groups—duos and trios, and also a solo outing—in addition to his masterpiece, Testimony (2020), featuring his quartet along with the National Academic Symphonic Band of Ukraine.

His late career productivity—and quality of artistry—for Origin Records parallels reedman & composer

Henry Threadgill

woodwinds
b.1944

" data-original-title="" title="">Henry Threadgill's ongoing stint with Pi Recordings which began in 2001. Like Threadgill, Friesen is a brilliant and somewhat overlooked and uncompromising artist who has followed his muse. His approach is unpretentious and genuine concerning the crafting of his sound.

Post-Testimony Friesen released—again, on Origin Records—Passage (2021), a duo outing with pianist

Bob Ravenscroft

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Bob Ravenscroft. With Day of Rest, his second 2021 release for the record label, Friesen presents a solo piano set which is introspective, tranquil, sparely articulated and starkly beautiful.

Though best known as a bassist & composer, Friesen plays piano more than competently—he sat at the keyboard, skillfully, in parts of his previously- mentioned Testimony. Bassist

Charles Mingus

bass, acoustic
1922 - 1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Charles Mingus' Mingus Plays Piano (Impulse!,1964) is an apt comparison for Day Of Rest. In terms of technical virtuosity, no-one was running around comparing Mingus to

Bill Evans

piano
1929 - 1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Evans back in the day; and no one will compare Friesen to

Keith Jarrett

piano
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Keith Jarrett or

Brad Mehldau

piano
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Brad Mehldau, but both Mingus and Friesen had/have deep personal powers of expression, spirituality and soul— music in the marrow of their bones—and the ability to express the emotions of artistic world views on an instrument not considered their number one means of creating sound.

Directness and (relative) simplicity, compassion and an uncluttered pursuit of excellence are the trademarks of the twenty brief tunes presented here. It is an alluring sound, an auditory experience with a spiritual feeling as it presents Friesen's world view, providing peaceful reassurance and understated beauty.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Backward Glance; Day Dream; Goal In Mind; Green Hills Slowly Passing By; Remembering The Moment; Day Of Rest; Distant Shores; Everything We Are; In The Moment; Lovely Lady; Meaningful; Mindful Of Your Tears; My Dance; My Dog Ellie; Place Of Point; Shining Star; Song For Tristan; Time Never Ends; Unfolding; Going Forth.

Personnel

David Friesen

bass

Additional Instrumentation

David Friesen: Ravenscroft Grand Piano.

Album information

Title: Day Of Rest | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Origin Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Fano Jazz By The Sea 2021, Part 3-3
< Previous

Dave Weckl, Mike Prigodich, Yellow J...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.