Don Friedman

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Don Friedman (2009)

Don Friedman (born May 4, 1935 in San Francisco , † June 30, 2016 ) was an American jazz pianist .

Live and act

Friedman, whose musical talent was recognized very early on, played his parents' piano at the age of four. From 5 he received private lessons from Katherine Swint. At the age of 15 he moved to the San Fernando Valley with his family ; he now refused to take classes because the pressure of expectation was very high.

At the age of 17 Friedman discovered jazz through a friend; he visited the Hollywood Palladium to hear bands like Les Brown , Stan Kenton and Billy May . The Kenton soloists Lee Konitz , Conte Candoli and Frank Rosolino proved to be formative for his music. He graduated from Los Angeles City College . In the mid-1950s he played in the Los Angeles area with various groups, including Shorty Rogers , Chet Baker , Buddy Collette , Ornette Coleman and Scott LaFaro . He made his first recording with trumpeters Hank DeMano and Jack Millman . 1956 engaged Buddy DeFranco Friedman for a tour, including appearances in Birdland and Basin Street in New York City .

Friedman moved back to California and lived there for about a year. In Los Angeles he met the double bass player Scott LaFaro . In 1958 he went to New York City and toured with DeFranco. Friedman also played in many compositions, including his own trio and with artists such as Pepper Adams , Booker Little , Jimmy Giuffre ( New York Concerts: The Jimmy Giuffre 3 & 4 , 1965), Charles Lloyd , Chuck Wayne , Herbie Mann and Dave Pike. He made his first recordings as director for producer Orrin Keepnews at Riverside Records from 1961 to 1964. The first three records were with his trio and the fourth was a quartet ("Dreams and Explorations") with guitarist Attila Zoller (on whose in Berlin realized recording The Horizon Beyond he was also involved). The recordings received very good reviews: three of them received 5 stars, the top rating on Down Beat , while the fourth received 4 stars. In 1965 Friedman won a new Star Award in Down Beat's annual Critics' Poll . In the 1960s, Friedman began dating Clark Terry to work in his big band . Friedman also taught at New York University , where he directed a jazz ensemble.

Since the 1960s, when he worked in New York City as a jazz pianist and piano teacher, he toured the USA , Europe and Japan with many different groups . He received positive criticism for his lyrical style and technical virtuosity. Friedman plays in a wide range of styles from mainstream jazz with Ruby Braff , Clark Terry to modern creative jazz with Attila Zoller and Lee Konitz ( Thingin , 1996) or the band project Reflexionen with Urs Leimgruber and Bobby Burri . Usually undervalued in the USA, it is well known in Japan. Many recordings were only published there. Friedman made more recent recordings and concerts with bassist Martin Wind and in a trio with Ed Schuller and Reuben Hoch .

In 2005 he recorded a solo record ( A to Z ) dedicated to Attila Zoller for the German label ACT as part of the Piano Works series .

Friedman has been a guest at the Jazz Baltica Festival several times , where he presented his own compositions with his jazz trio and a string quartet ( The Composer Enja ) in 2009 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Marc Myers: Don Friedman (1935-2016) . Obituary and interview with Don Friedman from 2009 on JazzWax, July 2, 2016 (English).
personal data
SURNAME Friedman, Don
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz pianist
DATE OF BIRTH May 4, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH San Francisco
DATE OF DEATH June 30, 2016