...diaphanous arrangements, a light and airy sonic touch, a sublime and heavenly translucence. The music orbits—with a subtle, measured and seemingly inevitable galactic grandeur...
Lushly orchestrated by Kyle Gordon for a 33-piece chamber orchestra, bassist David Friesen's compositions soar in this new 12-part work, originally conceived for the National Academic Symphonic Band of Ukraine. Following 2020's Testimony, which featured that ensemble, Friesen began on this masterwork with the premier set for the Philharmonic Hall in Kyiv in May of 2022. With that date becoming an impossibility, Gordon instead sculpted the orchestra in his Los Angeles studio with a superbly created sample library and an ear trained in producing for expansive, sweeping film and TV soundtracks. Interacting with the duo of Friesen and pianist Paul Lees, along with percussionists Charlie Doggett and Rob Moore, the suite unfolds as a musical manifestation of the spiritual light that offers forgiveness, hope and purpose, through movements such as "Perseverance," "Innocence," and "Tides Turning," with the closing piece, the hymn-like "Return to the Father," written for his wife of 58 years who passed away during a tragic week that included the invasion of Ukraine.
Track Listing:
1 Recovery for Two 5:25
2 Motivation 6:37
3 Perseverance 4:39
4 Innocence 4:02
5 Basic Strategy 5:11
6 Time Changes 4:36
7 A Beautiful Moment 4:31
8 Tides Turning 6:19
9 Neves 3:31
10 A Smile Turns to Laughter 5:52
11 The Repetition 3:36
12 Return to the Father 6:38
All music composed by David Friesen
Color Pool Music (BMI) / Bug Music (BMG Chrysalis)
Performers:
David Friesen - Hemage bass
Paul Lees - grand piano
Charlie Doggett - drums
Rob Moore - percussion
Kyle Gordon - orchestrations & arrangements, programming
33-piece Chamber Orchestra
Production Info:
Recorded & mixed at Ravenscroft Recording Studio
Scottsdale, AZ, February 2023
Recorded by Rob Moore, Alejandro Gordillo, Chance Robson
Post Production by Dana White
at Specialized Mastering, Portland, OR
Paintings & collages by David Friesen
Photographs by Rob Moore, Alejandro Gordillo, Chance Robson, Kyle Gordon, Natalie Friesen
Cover design & layout by John Bishop
Reviews of This Light Has No Darkness, Volume 1
Jazz Weekly (George W Harris)
In an era when most "statement albums" are focusing on the darkness, bassist David Friesen uses his Hemage Bass and faith to shine a bright and encouraging light. He teams up with pianist Paul Lees, percussionists Charlie Doggett and Rob More, and uses the arrangements, orchestrations and chamber ensemble programming of Kyle Gordon to create a rich ...
All About Jazz (Dan McClenaghan)
4-STARS In 2020, David Friesen, an American jazz artist with Ukrainian roots, released his masterpiece, Testimony (Origin Records). The set was an orchestral, spiritual soundscape featuring Friesen's jazz quartet and the National Academic Symphonic Band of Ukraine. Recorded in Kyiv, in December of 2018—about three years before Russia invaded Ukr ...
DownBeat (Ed Enright)
EDITOR'S PICK / 4-STARS Lushly orchestrated by Kyle Gordon for a 33-piece chamber orchestra, this captivating 12-part masterwork by David Friesen was originally conceived for the National Academic Symphonic Band of Ukraine, which was featured on the internationally acclaimed bassist/pianist/composer's 2020 album Testimony (Origin), an exploration ...
CD Hot List (Rick Anderson)
Jazz albums with explicitly religious themes are not unheard of, but they're not typical either. And yet last month I recommended a solo album by a jazz guitarist who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and whose music served as an expression of her faith, and this month I find myself recommending a new album from the ve ...
