We return, as promised, to further consideration of bassist David Friesen and his Circle 3 Trio’s new double CD, Interaction. The album in fact highlights the work of two Friesen trios, with Portlander Joe Manis on tenor and soprano saxophone in both. The second disc, recorded at the Porgy and Bess Jazz Club in Vienna, Austria, has Reuben Bradley on drums. All of the compostions are Friesen’s, with his “Flight of the Angels” on both discs. The live version of the tune in Vienna finds Manis and Friesen edging on a manic exploration of a tune that, despite its adventurous nature, is founded on seductive harmonic changes. Bradley’s drumming on the live version is as stimulating as Doggett’s in the Portland studio. Each of them supports and interweaves tellingly with the incisive notes of Friesen’s bass lines. The leader’s plucked solo on “Basic Strategy” wraps up a rewarding extended visit with a trio that in person must be a stimulating audience pleaser.
David Friesen, bass; Joe Manis, tenor sax; Reuben Bradley, drums. Live in Vienna earlier this year.