This Light Has No Darkness, Volume 1

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 venerable bassist/composer David Friesen, whose music in this case is also written in an attitude of explicit Christian devotion. To make it even more interesting, it's written for a combination of jazz trio and chamber orchestra — and the orchestra has been created using sampling software (for the interesting and heartbreaking story behind that decision, see the liner notes). How's the music? It's beautiful and explores better than most jazz/classical fusion projects a very fruitful borderland between the two genres. Listen closely and you can tell the orchestra isn't real, but that somehow only makes the 12-movement work all the more uniquely lovely.