(Bop, Jazz Cello) Erik Friedlander - Oscalypso: Tribute to Oscar Pettiford (Michael Blake, Trevor Dunn, Michael Sarin) - 2015, MP3, 320 kbps

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/erik-friedlander-mn0000163426
Artist Biography by Joslyn Layne
Cellist Erik Friedlander grew up exposed to R&B and jazz since his father photographed many album covers for Atlantic during the '50s and '60s. During his childhood and high school years, Friedlander was involved in chamber groups, his school orchestra, and a local rock band. He enrolled at Columbia University in 1978 to pursue a music degree, but it wasn't until a year later, upon hearing and speaking with bassist Harvie Swartz, that Friedlander decided to become a professional musician. Shortly thereafter, he joined Swartz's quintet, and the group released Underneath It All on Gramavision. His idea of what role a cello could play in jazz and modern music changed when he heard Hank Roberts in the string trio Arcado. Not too long after this, Friedlander began working with saxophonists John Zorn and Marty Ehrlich and trumpeter Dave Douglas. He performs on Douglas' 1993 release on Soul Note entitled Parallel Worlds. The next year, he formed his own group, Chimera, a quartet with clarinetists Chris Speed and Andrew D'Angelo and bassist Drew Gress; the group has two CDs out on Zorn's labels, Avant and Tzadik. Friedlander still performs classical music -- he has been principal cellist with Marin Alsop's Concordia, for instance -- but is focusing more on composition and improvisation; he's toured the U.S. and Europe with Joe Lovano, Myra Melford, John Zorn, and more. Friedlander has made appearances in the pop realm, too, having contributed parts to CDs by Maxwell and Dar Williams; he even performed on MTV with Courtney Love's Hole. In 1996, he formed the group Topaz -- originally to accompany a dance recital his wife choreographed -- which brought together Andy Laster and the rhythm section of brothers Satoshi and Stomu Takeishi; they recorded a self-titled album (which Siam released) the end of that year. Besides being busy with Topaz, the close of the '90s found Friedlander playing in a new quartet inspired by the work of Balthus, called the Game of Patience, with Ikue Mori; Skin followed in early 2000. In 2001 he released Gates of Paradise for Tzadik's Radical Jewish Culture series, followed by Quake in 2003, a collaboration with rhythmic Japanese siblings Stomu and Satoshi Takeishi. That same year, Friedlander released his first solo outing, the sparkling and literate Maldoror. 2006 saw the release of Prowl.

http://www.erikfriedlander.com/skipstone-records/osclaypso-cd-skpst021
“How long you been trying to do that jazz cello thing?”
..a much younger Erik Friedlander was asked after a concert. It was a troubling question that neatly described Friedlander’s personal quest to develop a voice for himself and his instrument and the larger struggle of all cellists who improvise: Where does the cello fit into jazz and can it even belong in that storied tradition?
“When you are an improvising cellist there is not so much history to contemplate and learn from. It’s like we’re on a desert island.” Friedlander says. Saxophone players or guitar players have a crowd of players to measure themselves against, while cellists have Fred Katz, Abdul Wadud and more recent players like Hank Roberts and Ernst Reijseger -- there are others, but it’s a short list.
Friedlander has been doing that jazz cello thing on New York’s Downtown music scene since the 1990s. He has worked to stake out new territory for himself and his instrument but has never recorded a project of cover tunes before. OSCALYPSO is a celebration of the music of bassist Oscar Pettiford who according to Friedlander was innovative on the cello too. “When I look to history for a role model, it’s Pettiford. ” says Friedlander, “Pettiford played the cello with such swing and melody. He was the first to lead a band from behind the cello. And he wrote original tunes, some of which are now classics. Pettiford had a special feel for the instrument -- he even named his son Cello! He’s always been a hero of mine.”
OSCALYPSO features 9 original Pettiford tunes. “I love the elegance of Pettiford’s lines. He’s such a savvy and joyful composer,” Friedlander explained, “I know he had some rough times with alcohol, and he could be bitter, but his writing is buoyant, even sweet. You can’t help but smile when you play.” The record has some of Pettiford’s most familiar compositions, like Bohemia After Dark and Tricotism as well as less well known tracks like Cable Car and Cello Again. Joining Friedlander on OSCALYPSO is Trevor Dunn on bass, Michael Sarin on drums, and saxophonist Michael Blake.

Erik Friedlander, cello;
Michael Blake, saxophones;
Trevor Dunn, bass;
Michael Sarin, drums