David Friesen and Glen Moore, two of the more influential bassists in jazz, recently teamed for a tour through Europe concluding with this, their third duo recording over the last 40 years. Add the decade between their initial meeting in Seattle before their first recording, 1977's "In Concert" (Vanguard), and the total time they've been working together comes to 50 years. Named for the two-humped camel native to the steppes of central Asia, "Bactrian" offers ample new proof that these old friends continue to take great glee in surprising and challenging each other, their listeners, and themselves. "Bassist David Friesen is a phenomenon, a player whose musicianship, tone, time and imagination are uncategorizable."