DON FRIEDMAN
Genres: Post Bop, Cool Jazz • United States

Donald Ernest Friedman American jazz pianist, born May 4, 1935, San Francisco, California, USA, died June 30, 2016, The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. from discogs Don Friedman studied jazz at Los Angeles City College during the mid 1950s. At that time 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. 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 read more...