Erik Friedlander is an American cellist and composer based in New York City.[1]
A veteran of New York City's experimental downtown scene, Friedlander has worked in many contexts, but is perhaps best known for his frequent collaborations with saxophonist
John Zorn.
Friedlander grew up in a home filled with art and music: his father is photographer
Lee Friedlander, noted for the cover photographs he took for
Atlantic Records. He is of
Finnish descent through his paternal grandmother.[2] His father's fondness for
R&B and
jazz helped shape Friedlander's taste in music. He graduated from
Columbia University in 1982.[3]
Friedlander started playing guitar at age six and added cello two years later. Apart from his work with Zorn, Friedlander has worked with
Laurie Anderson,
Courtney Love and
Alanis Morissette, and is a member of the jazz/fusion quartet Topaz.[4]
^"Cellist Erik Friedlander's best recording as a leader is also one of the most distinctive jazz-with-strings albums ever made." – Ed Hazell, The Boston Phoenix