(1984) Mal Waldron/David Friesen - Encounters ****

 

With: Mal Waldron (piano), David Friesen (bass)
Record date: March 18, 1984

This is the first of 3 duo encounters with jazz bassist David Friesen and it’s my favorite one of them. It’s a very intimate but also varied record with all kinds of music and influences. The starting standard ‘If I Were a Bell’ is a great success. According to the liners both Waldron and Friesen laughed troughout the complete song while playing it. And one could really hear that: it’s full of easy but joyous playing and tons of interaction. The title songs is a more free yet very accessible composition with a beautiful start by Mal, than Friesen comes in just interacting almost telepathically with what Mal is doing. His bass playing sounds very warm.

It’s Friesen’s solo effort that is probably the most impressive piece on the album: ‘For Toby’ was written for his youngest song and it’s incredibly beautiful. It’s not jazz in a traditional matter but a highly emotional melody played on his ‘Oregon’ bass. That instrument allows him to delay with a Roland pedal and overdub himself while playing. ‘Night Wind’ starts with an almost ambient feel, Friesen playing Shakuhachi, a Japanese kind of flute. Then Mal falls in with a very simple but beautiful repeating motive. Again it lays pretty far from traditional jazz and has hint’s of eastern music, ambient and new age. It’s very refreshing to hear. Then there’s another jazz standard, a ballad to be precisely. And ‘Imagination’ is performed with great beauty and subtlety. Listening to what you’re companion is doing is so important in jazz and this record is all about that. You could hear a form of mutual respect and admiration trough their playing. The session comes to an end with Mal playing a solo piece. It’s loud and highly percussive with Mal exploring both inside as outside as the title already suggests. It's slow and fast, staccato and waltzing, bluesy and free. Great closing song.

This was Mal’s only recording put out for the famous Muse label which has brought out so many underrated jazz classics. As with most Muse LP’s there were probably produced quite a few as there are plenty of copies to be found on the internet, even sealed ones! And also like with most second hand Muse recordings it’s cheap but best available in the U.S. I have got the Japanese Sony cd which really sounds awesome. Especially with the solo track by Friesen, it’s like you’re inside his bass. If you’re able to find a copy for a decent price do not hesitate. This is the Waldron/Friesen duet I like best. It’s a very personal and creative record with plenty of pleasant surprises.