1990 · Album
Among Friends
Recorded 1982 at Keystone Korner, San Francisco · Theresa (original release 1989); Evidence (CD reissue 1992) · Personnel: Cedar Walton (piano), Billy Higgins (drums), Buster Williams (bass)
A Simple Pleasure Found Late
Cedar Walton swings hard in a trio, no frills, just the basics done right.
Among Friends arrived quietly. Released first on the Theresa label in 1989, seven years after it was recorded, the album did not land with immediate critical fanfare. It was the final release on a small independent label, which meant limited distribution and reach. But when Evidence reissued it on CD in 1992, things shifted. The album found its audience then—not as a hot new discovery, but as a solid record that had aged well, one that listeners could actually hear clearly in the digital format.
The Chicago Tribune's Jack Fuller got it right away: Walton has all the basics, beginning with swing. He quoted Fuller's observation about Walton's literate sense of humor, the way standards become more interesting when played by someone who knows how to bend them without breaking them. AllMusic later awarded it four stars, calling it excellent hard bop-based music from a talented pianist. These were not grudging compliments. This is a trio album—Billy Higgins on drums and Buster Williams on bass—recorded live at Keystone Korner in San Francisco during the same 1982 session that produced Bobby Hutcherson's Farewell Keystone. No studio sheen, no overdubs, just three musicians who know how to listen to each other.
For Cedar Walton, this was not a peak or a turning point. It was solid, honest work by a pianist who had been making solid, honest music for years. If you already love Walton's approach to standards and trio playing, this belongs in your collection. If you are new to him, it is a fine way to hear what the fuss is about—straightforward, swinging, and built to last.
Who's playing
Where next?
More by Cedar Walton
All 42 albums →
The musicians on this record
Dialogue 1965
Bobby Hutcherson
plays vibraphone here
plays vibraphone here
Something More 1989
Buster Williams
plays double bass here
plays double bass here
♫
The Oracle 1989
Billy Higgins
plays drums (drum set) here
plays drums (drum set) here
