Don Friedman
Don Friedman was born May 4, 1935, in San Francisco. His parents loved classical music and they owned a piano. Under their guidance, Don started playing at age four. He began lessons at five with a private teacher named Katherine Swint. Though he had no exposure to jazz at this time Don taught himself to improvise.
When he was 15, his family moved to the San Fernando Valley in Greater Los Angeles. Two years later he began to head regularly for the Hollywood Palladium to hear the bands of Les Brown, Stan Kenton and Billy May. That fueled his love for jazz. Kenton soloists Lee Konitz, Conte Condoli, and Frank Rossolino inspired Don as he transformed his focus from classical music to jazz.
Don studied jazz at Los Angeles City College and also on his own by playing along with records of Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins and Miles Davis. By the mid 1950s L.A. was the capital of West Coast Jazz and Don was becoming part of it as he worked around town with groups that included Shorty Rogers, Chet Baker, Ornette Coleman, and Scott LaFaro.
At the same time, he displayed his hard bop credentials by gigging with Dexter Gordon. He made his first records as a sideman with trumpeters Hank DeMano and Jack Millman. In 1956 Buddy DeFranco hired him for a tour that included gigs at New York’s Birdland and Basin Street.
The DeFranco tour was a turning point, and the experience convinced Don in 1958 to leave California for New York. He thrived in Manhattan’s great and diverse jazz scene of that time. He played with most of the major players and his reputation began to build as a pianist who was going places.
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- Waltz for Marilyn by Samuel Chell
In the Studio
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- Piano Works VI: From A To Z by Chris May
Multiple Reviews
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- Live at JazzBaltica by Andrey Henkin
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- My Favorite Things by Riel Lazarus
- Waltz for Debby by Andrey Henkin
November 28, 2020
Attila Zoller and Don Friedman
July 11, 2016
Passings: Friedman, Jones, Thompson
July 02, 2016
September 24, 2009
Interview: Don Friedman (Part 2)
September 23, 2009
Interview: Don Friedman (Part 1)
June 02, 2006
Free Download from Bassoon And Beyond featuring Daniel Smith + Live...
June 15, 2005
Don Friedman Trio @ Marie's Thurs June 16th 9:00 PM-12:30 AM
May 03, 2005
Don Friedman's 70th Birthday Celebration at Kitano Fri./Sat./Sun. May 6...
February 22, 2005
The Don Friedman Trio at The Jazz Standard March 4-5-6
November 04, 2003
The Don Friedman Trio at The Jazz Standard Thrusday Nov 6th Sets AT...
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