Erik Friedlander Solo @ Rizzoli Bookstore at Rizzoli Bookstore

Today's leading cello innovator and a stalwart of the creative music scene in a rare solo performance showcasing some of the highlights from his diverse range of projects.

Erik Friedlander started studying music at an early age, beginning at 5 with guitar, and then at 8, cello lessons. He grew up in a house filled with music, as his father, an avid music lover, made countless mixtapes which played daily in their home. Erik spent his twenties honing his skills as a player and improviser and quickly became a sought-after studio musician, performing on the Downtown music scene with artists as diverse as The Mountain Goats, John Zorn, Dave Douglasand Courtney Love. Erik's desire to actively participate in the swirl of music styles he was surrounded by led him to find new ways to play the cello and drives his solo work which is varied and unusual....

read more

Today's leading cello innovator and a stalwart of the creative music scene in a rare solo performance showcasing some of the highlights from his diverse range of projects.

Erik Friedlander started studying music at an early age, beginning at 5 with guitar, and then at 8, cello lessons. He grew up in a house filled with music, as his father, an avid music lover, made countless mixtapes which played daily in their home. Erik spent his twenties honing his skills as a player and improviser and quickly became a sought-after studio musician, performing on the Downtown music scene with artists as diverse as The Mountain Goats, John Zorn, Dave Douglasand Courtney Love. Erik's desire to actively participate in the swirl of music styles he was surrounded by led him to find new ways to play the cello and drives his solo work which is varied and unusual.

Friedlander's recent projects include Rings, featuring Black Phebe, Erik's three-trios-in-one band: "Together they travel musically around the world in different times and places. From dusty streets and whirling dances to delicate and ethereal tone poems. The music is widescreen." - Jakob Baekgaard (AllAboutJazz.com)

Other projects include Oscalypso, a grooving tribute to bassist and sometimes cellist Oscar Pettiford and Illuminations, a magical solo CD that weaves inspirations from ancient book making with ritual dance movements and Renaissance vocal forms. Nighthawks is a project that was conceived during the blackout in lower Manhattan caused by Hurricane Sandy. The CD features his Bonebridge Band, a slide-guitar, cello, bass and drums quartet. Claws & Wings, an elegiac work dedicated to Erik's late wife, features laptop percussionist Ikue Mori and pianist Sylvie Courvoisier; and a limited edition LP with photographer Mitch Epstein entitled American Power.

Friedlander recently completed the score for Thoroughbred, a feature film directed by Cory Finley that will appear at The Sundance Festival. Erik has also composed music for ads, dance works, and documentaries including the score for Nothing on Earth, a documentary about the work of landscape photographer Murray Fredericks' dangerous visits to the Greenland icecap. Erik scored the feature film Future Weather, released in 2013.

Rizzoli Music Aperitivo is sponsored by Mionetto Prosecco and curated by Mondo Jazz, the weekly Radio Free Brooklyn show dedicated to international jazz.

Please rsvp to [email protected]. Tickets may be purchased at the door for $20 and include complimentary prosecco. If you do not receive a confirmation email within 24 hours it means your rsvp has not reached us, so please write again.

show less