"Originally titled "Reach Me, Friend," Ralph Towner's "Song For A Friend" suggests a musical connection every bit as deep as the one pianist Marc Copland has with the late bassist Scott LaFaro. LaFaro's "Jade Visions" opens Copland's Nightfall, its halting rhythms and subtle, cascading chords a perfect way to begin. And like "Jade Visions," "Song For A Friend" is also a quiet, mournful meditation on, in this case, a friend. And both songs are geared around bass players, Towner's with former Oregon bassist Glen Moore. The balance of Nightfall is consistent with the moods established by those songs, Copland's affinities with what might be called a lush romanticism a hallmark of his work over the year"