Don Friedman - Almost Everything (SteepleChase, 1995)

Don Friedman, piano
Ron McClure, bass
Matt Wilson, drums

Recorded April 1995
SteepleChase Digital Studio
Engineer: Josiah Gluck

This is my second consecutive post of piano trio recordings by Don Friedman: The Days of Wine and Roses (Soul Note, 1995) and Almost Everything on SteepleChase. I consider Friedman to be one of jazz's greatest pianists. I'm not sure anyone agrees, but on the off chance that a reader's interest might be piqued, I offer these posts as Exhibits A and B in the court of blogospheric opinion. 

Fittingly perhaps, almost everything I like about Friedman's trio work is displayed on Almost Everything. The program consists of 4 Friedman originals, 1 each by Matt Wilson and Ron McClure, and 3 standards. 

The title piece, programmed last, is a clever variation on Jerome Kern's "All the Things You Are." Friedman often names his originals as hints identifying his sources. In this case, almost everything is not all the things you are, but almost. It actually sounds like a solo Friedman would play after stating Kern's familiar melody.

Another original is "Flamands," a vamp-based three-note ascent within one octave that builds in intensity. "Waltz for Marilyn" is one of Friedman's most-played compositions, and he unhurriedly lingers over the chords before stating the melody. 

The standards demonstrate Friedman's seemingly inexhaustible capacity to play variations, especially on "Darn That Dream" and "Emily." These are both "pretty" songs that don't naturally stimulate improvisation, but Friedman turns them into master classes. I'm truly amazed every time I hear him improvise, turning familiar fare into new experiences.

Ron McClure is a few years younger than Friedman, and both of their discographies extend back into the 1960s. Discogs lists over 240 credits for McClure as a performer. He is also a leader of many SteepleChase CDs beginning in 1990. On Almost Everything, his original "El Niño" has an interesting rhythm in which Wilson plays a bit behind the beat, thereby adding tension to the song. Friedman's solo on "El Niño" is another model of creative elaboration.  

In 1995, Wilson was a fresh face at the beginning of his recording career. From the outset, his style was humorously adventurous and on Almost Everything he plays fascinating little figures that add interest to both melodies and solos. His own "Twigs and Branches" is less of a song than a progression of sounds that cohere but are hard to analyze. It's the most novel piece on the album.