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Erik Friedlander

Cellist Erik Friedlander is a composer and an improviser, a first-call studio player and a jazzbo. A veteran of NYC's downtown scene, his 12 CDs as a leader recently include, Block Ice & Propane, his solo cello reinterpretation of American roots music; The Broken Arm Trio, a trio tribute to jazz bassist Oscar Pettiford; and Volac, a romantic collection of virtuoso solo cello pieces by John Zorn. Erik has performed on 100's of recordings and soundtracks including work with Laurie Anderson, The Mountain Goats, Ennio Morricone, and Courtney Love.

Friedlander started studying music at an early age, beginning at age 5 with folk guitar and then, at age 8, cello lessons. He grew up in a house filled with music as his father, an avid music lover, made countless mix tapes. Erik's desire to actively participate in the swirl of music styles he grew accustom to hearing led him to find new ways to play the cello. His compositions and his improvising style attempt to blend the traditions of classical and popular music styles with an always evolving vision of what a cellist can be pushed to accomplish.

Erik maintains a website the includes video lessons and exercises, free podcasts, and travel and amplification advice. He will be releasing “50 Miniatures for Improvising Quintet” later this year and “Alchemy”, a 10” LP of solo works, was just released in Germany. He will be touring in the USA and Europe including concerts at La Coruna and Ferrol, Spain with the Masada String Trio; an appearance at the Montreal Jazz Festival, and solo concerts at the re:Flux Festival in New Brunswick and the Kilkenny Arts Festival in Ireland.

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Live Review

Erik Friedlander The Throw al Carambolage di Bolzano

Read "Erik Friedlander The Throw al Carambolage di Bolzano" reviewed by Giuseppe Segala


Erik Friedlander The Throw Carambolage Bolzano 14.11.2022 Con la sua musica, Erik Friedlander afferma una cosa importante: che quella forma espressiva chiamata jazz può essere profonda, ardita, avventurosa, anche complessa, senza perdere le qualità di immediatezza e comunicazione in grado di catturare l'attenzione del pubblico, di provocare il suo coinvolgimento emotivo, oltre che intellettivo. Il suo interesse attivo. È una problematica con cui oggi il jazz e tanta musica contemporanea fanno i conti, in ...

Album Review

Erik Friedlander: A Queens' Firefly

Read "A Queens' Firefly" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero


Il violoncello di Erik Friedlander, dolcissimo, introduce la melodia, poi gradualmente le altre voci si aggiungono con delicatezza, quasi con circospezione a dar forma a una ballad sognante. È la title track, il brano che apre il disco e sembrerebbe marcare in qualche modo il terreno, garantire coordinate di viaggio sicure. Succede invece che già la successiva «Match Strikes» sembra perdere il segnale e scombinare traiettorie, con il pizzicato e le svisate del violoncello, le leggere dissonanze ...

9
Album Review

Erik Friedlander: A Queens' Firefly

Read "A Queens' Firefly" reviewed by Troy Dostert


When a cello is your calling card, it is only to be expected that the “chamber jazz" label will tend to follow you around--and so it has for Erik Friedlander, although that term hardly does justice to the variegated possibilities he sets in motion through his assorted projects. Having worked with a “who's who" list of cutting-edge musicians including Myra Melford, Dave Douglas, Sylvie Courvoisier, John Zorn, and countless others including artists well outside the jazz world such as the ...

Album Review

Michael Leonhart Orchestra: The Normyn Suites

Read "The Normyn Suites" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Gli eclettici sviluppi orchestrali di Michael Leonhart, tra maestosi affreschi evocativi e trascinanti momenti rock e soul, tornano a entusiasmarci con questo magistrale The Normyn Suites, dove la poetica della leggerezza convive con scelte di vivo impatto ritmico e timbrico. Le due forti propensioni musicale dell'autore sono ben bilanciate: quella impressionista (che ha caratterizzato opere ammalianti come Lovers di Nels Cline e il suo The Painted Lady Suite) e quella legata alla popular music, maturata nelle collaborazioni con Steely Dan, ...

Live Review

Erik Friedlander Throw A Glass al Pinocchio di Firenze

Read "Erik Friedlander Throw A Glass al Pinocchio di Firenze" reviewed by Neri Pollastri


Erik Friedlander Throw a Glass Firenze Pinocchio Live Jazz 8.2.2020 Inizio della programmazione di Febbraio al Pinocchio con una formazione statunitense di primissimo livello: il quartetto Throw a Glass del violoncellista Erik Friedlander, con Uri Caine al pianoforte, Mark Helias al contrabbasso e Ches Smith alla batteria. Il gruppo presentava un programma in buona parte tratto dal disco del 2018, Artemisia, dedicato alla “bevanda maledetta" degli artisti otto-novecenteschi, il liquore di assenzio.

Live Review

Erik Friedlander - Throw a Glass al Piacenza Jazz Fest 2019

Read "Erik Friedlander - Throw a Glass al Piacenza Jazz Fest 2019" reviewed by Luca Muchetti


Throw a Glass: Erik Friedlander, Uri Caine, Mark Helias, Ches Smith Piacenza Jazz Fest 2019 Galleria Alberoni Piacenza 5.4.2019 Non poteva che risultare liquida, talvolta euforica, talaltra depressa e a tratti stupendamente allucinatoria la trasposizione live di Artemisia, l'album che Throw a Glass, il super-gruppo capitanato da Erik Friedlander, ha regalato al pubblico del Piacenza Jazz Fest come ultimo atto di una edizione 2019 davvero da incorniciare. Posizionati proprio al termine ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Illuminations: Erik Friedlander's Remarkable Artistry

Read "Illuminations: Erik Friedlander's Remarkable Artistry" reviewed by Ludovico Granvassu


Erik Friedlander is today's leading cello innovator and a stalwart of the creative music scene. This mixtape captures highlights from some of his recent projects. Erik Friedlander “Beaufin Street" from Bobebridge (Skipstone) 0:00 Erik Friedlander “Night White" from Block Ice and Propane (Skipstone) 4:03 Erik Friedlander “Twenty-six Gasoline Stations" from Nighthawks (Skipstone) 7:03 Erik Friedlander “Zodiac" from Illuminations -A Suite for Solo Cello (Skipstone) 11:36 Erik Friedlander, Ikue Mori, Sylvie Courvoisier “Cheek to Cheek" from Claws & ...

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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Erik Friedlander

Jazz Musician of the Day: Erik Friedlander

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Erik Friedlander's birthday today!

Cellist Erik Friedlander is a composer and an improviser, a first-call studio player and a jazzbo. A veteran of NYC's downtown scene, his 12 CDs as a leader recently include, Block Ice & Propane, his solo cello reinterpretation of American roots music; The Broken Arm Trio, a trio tribute to jazz bassist Oscar Pettiford; and Volac, a romantic collection of virtuoso solo cello pieces by John Zorn. Erik has performed on ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Erik Friedlander

Jazz Musician of the Day: Erik Friedlander

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Erik Friedlander's birthday today!

Cellist Erik Friedlander is a composer and an improviser, a first-call studio player and a jazzbo. A veteran of NYC's downtown scene, his 12 CDs as a leader recently include, Block Ice & Propane, his solo cello reinterpretation of American roots music; The Broken Arm Trio, a trio tribute to jazz bassist Oscar Pettiford; and Volac, a romantic collection of virtuoso solo cello pieces by John Zorn. Erik has performed on ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Erik Friedlander

Jazz Musician of the Day: Erik Friedlander

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Erik Friedlander's birthday today!

Cellist Erik Friedlander is a composer and an improviser, a first-call studio player and a jazzbo. A veteran of NYC's downtown scene, his 12 CDs as a leader recently include, Block Ice & Propane, his solo cello reinterpretation of American roots music; The Broken Arm Trio, a trio tribute to jazz bassist Oscar Pettiford; and Volac, a romantic collection of virtuoso solo cello pieces by John Zorn. Erik has performed on ...

1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Erik Friedlander

Jazz Musician of the Day: Erik Friedlander

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Erik Friedlander's birthday today!

Cellist Erik Friedlander is a composer and an improviser, a first-call studio player and a jazzbo. A veteran of NYC's downtown scene, his 12 CDs as a leader recently include, Block Ice & Propane, his solo cello reinterpretation of American roots music; The Broken Arm Trio, a trio tribute to jazz bassist Oscar Pettiford; and Volac, a romantic collection of virtuoso solo cello pieces by John Zorn. Erik has performed on ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Erik Friedlander

Jazz Musician of the Day: Erik Friedlander

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Erik Friedlander's birthday today!

Cellist Erik Friedlander is a composer and an improviser, a first-call studio player and a jazzbo. A veteran of NYC\'s downtown scene, his 12 CDs as a leader recently include, Block Ice & Propane, his solo cello reinterpretation of American roots music; The Broken Arm Trio, a trio tribute to jazz bassist Oscar Pettiford; and Volac, a romantic collection of virtuoso solo cello pieces by John Zorn... Read more.

Place our ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Erik Friedlander

Jazz Musician of the Day: Erik Friedlander

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Erik Friedlander's birthday today!

Cellist Erik Friedlander is a composer and an improviser, a first-call studio player and a jazzbo. A veteran of NYC\'s downtown scene, his 12 CDs as a leader recently include, Block Ice & Propane, his solo cello reinterpretation of American roots music; The Broken Arm Trio, a trio tribute to jazz bassist Oscar Pettiford; and Volac, a romantic collection of virtuoso solo cello pieces by John Zorn... Read more.

Place our ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Erik Friedlander

Jazz Musician of the Day: Erik Friedlander

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Erik Friedlander's birthday today!

Cellist Erik Friedlander is a composer and an improviser, a first-call studio player and a jazzbo. A veteran of NYC\'s downtown scene, his 12 CDs as a leader recently include, Block Ice & Propane, his solo cello reinterpretation of American roots music; The Broken Arm Trio, a trio tribute to jazz bassist Oscar Pettiford; and Volac, a romantic collection of virtuoso solo cello pieces by John Zorn... Read more.

Place our ...

1

Performance / Tour

Jazz this week: Ann Hampton Callaway, Erik Friedlander's Black Phebe Trio, and more

Jazz this week: Ann Hampton Callaway, Erik Friedlander's Black Phebe Trio, and more

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes the return of a popular singer, the local debut of a challenging trio of improvisors, a tribute to a beloved big band trumpeter and bandleader, and more. Let's go to the highlights... Wednesday, March 15 Longtime St. Louis favorite Ann Hampton Callaway returns for the first time for the first of four nights at Jazz at the Bistro. Callaway was here most recently last summer to do ...

Video / DVD

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Erik Friedlander's Black Phebe Trio

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Erik Friedlander's Black Phebe Trio

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

Today, it's time to check out some videos featuring cellist Erik Friedlander, who will be in St. Louis to perform with his Black Phebe Trio in a concert presented by New Music Circle next Thursday, March 16 at The Stage at KDHX. Over the past 20 years or so, the NYC-based Friedlander has released more than two dozen albums as a leader or co-leader, performing solo and with a variety of collaborators and ensembles. He's especially known for his frequent ...

1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Erik Friedlander

Jazz Musician of the Day: Erik Friedlander

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Erik Friedlander's birthday today!

Cellist Erik Friedlander is a composer and an improviser, a first-call studio player and a jazzbo. A veteran of NYC\'s downtown scene, his 12 CDs as a leader recently include, Block Ice & Propane, his solo cello reinterpretation of American roots music; The Broken Arm Trio, a trio tribute to jazz bassist Oscar Pettiford; and Volac, a romantic collection of virtuoso solo cello pieces by John Zorn... Read more.

Place our ...

"Erik Friedlander can do things with a cello that should have a reasonable listener fearing for her life," says PitchforkMedia.com, "Rostropovich one second and Rottweiler the next."

Billboard wrote, "Friedlander [is] one of today's most ingenious and forward-thinking musical practitioners."

"If there's a venerable tradition of American road films, Block Ice & Propane belongs in the associated list of great road albums." — John Corbett (Downbeat)

Primary Instrument

Cello

Location

New York City

Willing to teach

Advanced only

Queen Kong
band / ensemble / orchestra

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

The Parsonage

Sunnyside Records
2023

buy

The Normyn Suites

Sunnyside Records
2022

buy

A Queens' Firefly

Skipstone Records
2022

buy

Artemisia

Skipstone Records
2018

buy

Close Up

Clean Feed Records
2018

buy

Rings

Skipstone Records
2016

buy

Object

From: Close Up
By Erik Friedlander

Object

From: Close Up
By Erik Friedlander

Videos

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