David Friesen & Kyiv Mozart String Quartet
PRE-ORDER: This item will be shipped with the aim to deliver on release day.
Release Date: 26 September 2025
Label: Origin Records
Packaging Type: Digipak
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 0805558290824
Genres: Jazz
Description
Though a major international jazz figure for decades, it wasn't until 2015 that a tour allowed bassist-composer David Friesen the opportunity to visit his mother's ancestral home of Ukraine for the first time. Welcomed by a camera crew and introductions to pivotal musicians and cultural institutions, his journey was first documented on 2020's critically acclaimed Testimony, recorded live at Kyiv's National Philharmonic Hall with the National Academic Symphonic Band of Ukraine. The ensuing pandemic and war put further plans on hold, but Friesen was able to record with the Kyiv Mozart String Quartet in October 2021, and those recordings provide the framework and soul of A Light Shining Through. Adding organic percussion sounds and saxophone to his singing melodies, the album's tuneful vignettes reflect the many emotions exposed through his journey of ancestral discovery.
"A solo virtuoso, Friesen can dazzle....but lately his work has settled into an elegant, melodic simplicity. His compositions flow like the modal music of the '70s, yet they also feel grounded..." - DownBeat Magazine
"...a musical manifestation of the spiritual light that offers forgiveness, hope and purpose." - DownBeat
Tracklisting
Xose Miguelez
Joachim Mencel, Steve Cardenas, Scott Colley & Rudy Royston
Thomas Marriott, Orrin Evans, Luques Curtis & Mark Whitfield Jr
Ted Moore Trio
Jared Hall
Meridian Odyssey
Ben Patterson, Shawn Purcell, Chris Ziemba, Paul Henry, Todd Harrison
Brent Jensen
Sun Speak
Robert Mitchell
Gregory Groover Jr.
Thom Rotella
JD Allen
The 3 Cohens & WDR Big Band
Wolfgang Muthspiel; Scott Colley; Brian Blade
Rolf Thofte Quintet
