SKIN Press

Top CDs of 2000

"#2. Erik Friedlander, Skin (Siam): Cellist/composer Erik Friedlander’s avant-jazz compositions are alternately brash, dynamic, mellifluous and haunting. Sometimes they’re all four at the same time. Balkan melodies morph into street-funk and back, as Friedlander’s versatile quartet, Topaz, featuring saxophonist Andy Laster, toss around the focus. The byplay between Friedlander and Laster is spectacular, so telepathic that often it’s hard to tell which is the cello and which is the sax. In addition to Friedlander’s compositions, the group tackles Julius Hemphill, Charles Mingus, Iranian pop diva Googoosh, Carlos Santana and Henry Mancini."

Seth Rogovoy THE BEAT

"No one has made jazz quite like this before. For those inclined to believe the cello might make a fine instrument for ballads and nothing else, guess again. Friedlander's cello burns bright."

Stewart Oksenhorn, The Aspen Times

Friedlander has quickly established himself as a potential innovator, playing with the ease and swing of a wind instrument player. Even more importantly, he has brought a cutting edge, imaginative sensibility to his music, refusing to be restricted by the blues and standards of much straight-ahead jazz."

Don Heckman, The Los Angeles Times

"[Stomu] Takeishi's fretless work is marked by spot-on intonation, tremendous facility and imagination. Apparently Erik Friedlander doesn't feel challenged by the thought of being the best cellist in jazz. Instead, he seems to focus on participating in the most interesting projects he can find...The joys of this recording are many, and Friedlander is a bandleader to watch."

Bill Bennett, JazzTimes

"The results are often surprisingly upbeat, as cohorts Sotmu Takeishi (bass), Andy Laster (alto saxophone), and Satoshi Takeishi (percussion) frequently navigate their unique lineup through funk-infested waters, wedding '70s-inspired grooves to music already infused with both jazz and calssical overtones. Meditative chants, Latin rhythms, and a cello quartet are utilized liberally, marking Friedlander as one of today's most ingenious and forward-thinking musical practitioners."

Steve Graybow, Billboard Magazine

"Using rhythms that reference pop music, he and his unit manage to simultaneously wiggle their butts and shake their gray matter."

Jim Macnie, Downbeat

This is a terrific record... Friedlander is...carving new space-jazz-rock frontiers in this quartet setting. Black-ice slippery and utilizing harmonics and sacattershot melodies, Friedlander and his band Topaz create continually fresh and challenging music--and it's always enjoyably listenable."

Rick Koster, DAY (New London, CT)

"..a cello? It has been tried, but not like this. Erik Friedlander's virtuosity and improvisational powers are stunning, achieving tones and colors many symphonic cellists hear only in their dreams."

Chris Jorgenses, The Jackson Citizen Patriot

"Credit Erik Friedlander with the latest proof that the jazz cello is very real indeed. He forges his link with earlier practitioners from Oscar Pettiford to Abdul Wadud and beyond. On his two albums, Topaz and Skin, he extends the instrument's domain with his exuberant explorations of diversely influenced improvisational music."

Drew Wheeler, CDNOW

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