Donald Ernest Friedman (May 4, 1935 – June 30, 2016) was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
pianist. He began playing in Los Angeles and moved to New York in 1958. In the 1960s, he played with both modern stylists and more traditional musicians.
Early life
Friedman was born on May 4, 1935, in San Francisco. Both of his parents immigrated to the United States: his father, Edward Friedman, was from Lithuania, and his mother, Alma Loew, was from Germany. He began playing the piano at the age of four, switching from classical music to jazz after his family moved to Los Angeles when he was fifteen. His early jazz piano influence was
Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. A pioneer in the development of bebop and its associated contributions to jazz theory,Grove Powell's application of complex phrasing to ...
. Friedman briefly studied composition at Los Angeles City College.
Later life and career
On the West Coast, Friedman performed with
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians. Gordon's height was , so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" an ...
,
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool".
Baker earned much attention and ...
,
Buddy DeFranco
Boniface Ferdinand Leonard "Buddy" DeFranco (February 17, 1923 – December 24, 2014) was an American jazz clarinetist. In addition to his work as a bandleader, DeFranco led the Glenn Miller Orchestra for almost a decade in the 1960s and 1970s.
...
, and
Ornette Coleman
Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist, and composer. He is best known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Ja ...
. He was also a member of
Clark Terry
Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American Swing music, swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator.
He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948� ...
's big band.
Friedman moved to New York permanently in 1958. In the 1960s, Friedman played with both modern jazz and more traditionally orientated musicians. The former included Coleman,
Eric Dolphy
Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and bandleader. Primarily an alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist, and flautist, Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain ...
,
Jimmy Giuffre
James Peter Giuffre (, ; April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating f ...
,
Booker Little
Booker Little Jr. (April 2, 1938 – October 5, 1961) – accessed June 2010 was an American
, and
Attila Zoller
Attila Cornelius Zoller (June 13, 1927 – January 25, 1998) was a Hungarian jazz guitarist. After World War II, he escaped the Soviet takeover of Hungary by fleeing through the mountains on foot into Austria. In 1959, he moved to the United Sta ...
; the latter included
Bobby Hackett
Robert Leo Hackett (January 31, 1915 – June 7, 1976) was a versatile American jazz musician who played swing music, Dixieland jazz and mood music, now called easy listening, on trumpet, cornet, and guitar. He played Swing with the bands ...
and
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz Flute, flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet ...
. Friedman's first album as a leader was '' A Day in the City'', in 1961. Some of his early albums received top ratings from ''
DownBeat
''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...
'', which also gave him its critics' poll New Star award. He was also an educator in New York. He had many fans in Japan.Don Friedman (1935-2016)
Friedman married three times; the first two ended in divorce. He died of pancreatic cancer, at home in the Bronx on June 30, 2016. Survivors were one daughter, actress and writer Lynn Adrianna Friedman, and a granddaughter.
Discography
As leader/co-leader
As a member
Reuben Hoch and Time
(with Reuben Hoch and
Ed Schuller
Edwin Gunther Schuller (January 11, 1955) is an American jazz bassist and composer. His father is Gunther Schuller, a composer, horn player, and music professor, and his younger brother is drummer George Schuller.
Career
A native of New York Ci ...
)
* ''Of Recent Time'' (Naim, 2006)
As sideman
With
Booker Little
Booker Little Jr. (April 2, 1938 – October 5, 1961) – accessed June 2010 was an American
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
, 1961)
With
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz Flute, flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet ...
The Beat Goes On The Beat Goes On, or variants, may refer to:
Music Albums
* ''The Beat Goes On'' (Herbie Mann album), 1967
* ''The Beat Goes On!'' (Sonny Criss album), 1968
* ''The Beat Goes On'' (Vanilla Fudge album), 1968
* '' The Beat Goes On: The Best of ...
'' (Atlantic, 1967) – rec. 1964-67
With Eiji Nakayama
* ''Conversation'' (Art Union, 1986)
* ''Sweet View: Eiji Nakayama Don Friedman Live in Japan'' (Jazz Road, 1987)
* ''Legend of the Lake'' (Jazz Road, 1988)
With
Dave Pike
David Samuel Pike (March 23, 1938 – October 3, 2015) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. He appeared on many albums by Nick Brignola, Paul Bley and Kenny Clarke, Bill Evans, and Herbie Mann. He also recorded extensively as l ...
Decca
Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label
* Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...
, 1964)
* ''
The Doors of Perception
''The Doors of Perception'' is an autobiographical book written by Aldous Huxley. Published in 1954, it elaborates on his psychedelic experience under the influence of mescaline in May 1953. Huxley recalls the insights he experienced, ranging ...
'' (
Vortex
In fluid dynamics, a vortex (: vortices or vortexes) is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices form in stirred fluids, and may be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools in th ...
, 1970) – rec. 1966
With Yuko Shigeno
* ''Shiny Stockings'' (Space Shower Music, 2011)
* ''Circle Waltz with Don Friedman'' (24 Jazz Japan, 2013)
With Hiromi Shimizu
* ''Waltz Tenderly'' (Jazz on Top, 2008)
* ''Live at Jazz on Top'' (Jazz on Top, 2010) – live
With
Clark Terry
Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American Swing music, swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator.
He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948� ...
Impulse!
Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positive critiques ...
, 1967)
* ''In Concert: Live'' (Etoile, 1973) – live rec. 1970
* ''Portraits'' (Chesky, 1989) – rec. 1988
* ''Live on QE2'' (Chiaroscuro, 2001) – live rec. 1999
* ''Friendship'' (Eighty-Eight's, 2002) – also with
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...
With others
*
Buddy Collette
William Marcel "Buddy" Collette (August 6, 1921 – September 19, 2010) was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet.
Early life
William Marcel Collette was born in ...
Contemporary
Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...
, 1957) – rec. 1956–57
* Shauli Einav, "Generations" (Posi-Tone, 2013)
* Bruno De Filippi, ''In New York With Don Friedman Trio'' (Carosello, 1992)
*
Herb Geller
Herbert Arnold Geller (November 2, 1928 – December 19, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger. He was born in Los Angeles.
Early life
His mother, Frances ''(née'' Frances Mildred Fullman, also known as Fannie Fullman; ...
, ''At The Movies'' (Hep Jazz, 2007)
*
Lee Konitz
Leon "Lee" Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist and composer.
He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's ass ...
, ''Lee Konitz Meets Don Friedman'' (Insights, 1994) – rec. 1992
* Hank De Mano, ''Listen to The Hank De Mano Quartet'' (Freeway Jazz, 1956)
*
John Handy
John Richard Handy III (born February 3, 1933) is an American jazz musician most commonly associated with the alto saxophone. He also sings and plays the tenor saxophone, tenor and baritone saxophone, baritone saxophone, saxello, clarinet, and ...
, ''
No Coast Jazz
''No Coast Jazz'' is an album by saxophonist John Handy III featuring tracks recorded in 1960 and originally released on the Roulette label.Roulette
Roulette (named after the French language, French word meaning "little wheel") is a casino game which was likely developed from the Italy, Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various grouping ...
, 1960)
*
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and very occasional flute player. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day an ...
, ''
Tetragon
In geometry a quadrilateral is a four-sided polygon, having four edges (sides) and four corners (vertices). The word is derived from the Latin words ''quadri'', a variant of four, and ''latus'', meaning "side". It is also called a tetragon, ...
'' (
Milestone
A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway, railway line, canal or border, boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks like Mileage sign, mileage signs; or they c ...
, 1968) – rec. 1967-68
*
Elvin Jones
Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such albums as ''My Fa ...
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
, 1965)
*
Don Lanphere
Donald Gale Lanphere (June 26, 1928 – October 9, 2003) was an American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist, known for his 1940s and 1950s work, and recordings with Fats Navarro (in 1948), Woody Herman (1949), Claude Thornhill, Sonny Dunham, B ...
Sal Salvador
Sal Salvador (November 21, 1925 – September 22, 1999), whose name was originally Silvio Smiraglia, was an American bebop jazz guitarist and a prominent music educator.
He was born in Monson, Massachusetts, United States, and began his profession ...
Quintet, ''In Our Own Sweet Way'' (Stash, 1983)
*
Grady Tate
Grady Tate (January 14, 1932 – October 8, 2017) was an American jazz and soul-jazz drummer and baritone vocalist. In addition to his work as sideman, Tate released many albums as leader and lent his voice to songs in the animated ''Schoolhou ...
, ''She Is My Lady'' (
Janus
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janus (''Ianu ...
, 1972)
*
Attila Zoller
Attila Cornelius Zoller (June 13, 1927 – January 25, 1998) was a Hungarian jazz guitarist. After World War II, he escaped the Soviet takeover of Hungary by fleeing through the mountains on foot into Austria. In 1959, he moved to the United Sta ...