CD Naim Fred Simon: Remember The River

2004

Fred Simon - pian
Paul McCandless - English horn, oboi,saxofon sopran, bas clarinet, fluier
Steve Rodby - contrabas

While most readers won't know the name Fred Simon, the pianist has kept admirable company over the years, including woodwind multi-instrumentalist Paul McCandless from the genre-bending group Oregon, and bassist/producer Steve Rodby, best known for his work with Pat Metheny Group since '82. Both artists team up with Simon for his latest release, Remember the River , and the result is an album that demonstrates everyone's strengths within the context of an album of gentle energies and subtle passions.

Simon's influences are broad—from Keith Jarrett and Lyle Mays to Joni Mitchell and the Beatles. He's a richly lyrical player who is more interested in serving the song than demonstrating his clearly fine technique, which, subsumed in the folk-like ambience of the record, is deceptive in its simplicity. While there's an improvisational component to the material—certainly this recording has some of McCandless' most eloquent playing in recent times—it's always within the context of a strong compositional element. With most pieces under the five-minute mark, and many under four, these are deeply visual miniatures that evoke the imagery of their titles in remarkable fashion. All too often song titles appear to be arbitrary choices—after all, you have to call a tune something —but when Simon titles a piece "December Together," he conjures a contrasting impression of winter cool and gentle romance. [ John Kelman, AllAboutJazz ]