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Erik Friedlander
NMC Presents: As the first installment in our Spring series, we're pleased to have guest cellist Erik Friedlander in town for a solo concert. Erik will be performing a full set of his solo works along with a Q&A about his music and process. Friedlander's latest CD release "Maldoror" features cello improvisations based on the lawless black humor of the 19th century poet Isidore Ducasse.
For more information about Erik and his music, please visit: http://www.erikfriedlander.com/ |
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Erik was born in New York City in 1960. Erik's father Lee Friedlander is recognized as one of the best street photographers of the 1960s. Lee is also known by musicians and jazz aficionados for the cover photos he took for Atlantic Records. His passion for R&B and jazz greatly influenced Erik, whose earliest memories are of a household filled with the sounds of his father's subjects--Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, McCoy Tyner, Ornette Coleman, and John Coltrane. Erik started playing guitar at age 6 and added cello two years later. He began formal lessons at age 12. Erik continued his musical studies at Columbia University in 1978. Upon graduation, he spent the next decade refining his cello technique through long hours of practice, supporting himself by playing in various orchestras and Broadway shows, and doing session work with artists like Laurie Anderson, Courtney Love, and Dar Williams. He also started his first small groups and made his first recordings. Erik came into his own in the 1990s as he became an integral part of NYC's downtown jazz scene receiving notices in publications like the Boston Globe, The Wire, and Billboard which wrote, "Friedlander is one of today's most ingenious and forward-thinking musical practitioners." He has always worked to stake out new ground for the cello in both his compositional choices and his dynamic improvising style. His music blends his vision of what the cello can be pushed to do, while maintaining a firm grasp on traditions, both improvising and classical.
