I Hear a Rhapsody (Don Friedman; Empathy).
Admirers of the late Bill Evans ought to be aware of Don Friedman`s music. Remembered by some as the best of the first wave of Evans-influenced pianists, Friedman actually was elaborating ideas he had developed on his own, and even though he was drawn toward Evans` style, the albums Friedman recorded for Riverside and other labels in the 1960s made it clear that his was a unique jazz voice.
Unfortunately it has not been easy to trace the rest of Friedman`s career. He made two superb albums for Japanese labels, ”Half and Half”
(Insights) in 1979 and ”Meant To Be” (Alty) in 1987, but these have been available only in a few stores that stock imports and are virtually unobtainable now because the current exchange rate makes them prohibitively expensive. All is not lost, though, because a small American label, Empathy, has issued a strong Friedman solo recital, ”I Hear A Rhapsody.” The title track is the best place to start, for here the likeness to Evans is evoked and then erased by the fierce linear turbulence of Friedman`s solo. Drawn to romantic, lyrical moods, Friedman is compelled to confront and even challenge them in ways that owe an oblique debt to Thelonious Monk-Friedman`s versions of ”Body and Soul” and ”`Round Midnight” being so radically reconceived that they almost become new compositions. ”I Hear a Rhapsody” can be ordered for $8.98 from Empathy Records, 3 Fair Oak Dr., Easton, Ct. 06612. (Reviewed on LP.)