The art of the piano and guitar duo hinges on the complicated paradox of creating more with less and using less to express more. The notable piano/guitar duos of Oscar Peterson and Joe Pass, Bill Evans and Jim Hall, and Fred Hersch and Bill Frisell, for instance, developed different ways of achieving this balance while intertwining rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic textures in a continuous give and take. Guitarist John Stowell and pianist Rick Helzer provide a unique contribution to this tradition with Friendship and Remembrance. Portland-based Stowell and San Diego-based Helzer have bridged their geographical distance and rare opportunities to perform together to develop a long-standing collaboration ripe with openness and improvisational risk taking. Their creative synergy is based upon a twenty-five year friendship that had its genesis at an informal jam session in a Los Angeles recording studio. The nearly instantaneous harmonic, rhythmic, and conceptual synchronicity has become the foundation for their ongoing musical alliance. A magical 2005 performance in San Diego prompted the duo to record Friendship and Remembrance,. The art of the piano/guitar duo is thriving and extended with this diverse program of original music.