Erik Friedlander tosses away his bow for this new band,
playing only pizzicato in a world steeped in the
influences of Oscar Pettiford and the small group feel of
Herbie Nichols.
Accident Leads To Invention:
In 1949 Oscar Pettiford broke his arm playing baseball.
He could still move his fingers even though his arm was
in a sling, so he began experimenting with a cello a
friend had lent to him. He tuned the cello like a bass
only an octave higher and later made history recording
a series of cello-led projects including the great,
under-recognized 1964 Fantasy release, "My Little
Cello" featuring a photo of his newborn son whom he
named Cello
Erik Friedlander tosses away his bow for this new band,
playing only pizzicato in a world steeped in the
influences of Oscar Pettiford and the small group feel
of Herbie Nichols.
Erik Friedlander, cello, Mike Sarin,
drums, Trevor Dunn, bass
NEWS
New Remix in the Works
Scott Solter is busy on on a remix EP of 5-6 tunes from the Broken Arm Trio CD. Very excited about this..more soon.
New CD
We will be going into the studio to record the new music we worked on out on the road this past January 2010..update soon.
New Reviews
A whole bunch of new European reviews have been coming in. You can read them below, just click on the banner or "read more"
NY Times Review
Music Review | Erik Friedlander's Broken Arm Trio
Making the Cello Jazzy: It's All in the Pizzicato Pluck
By NATE CHINEN
Published: March 30, 2009
The cellist Erik Friedlander possesses a deep, singing tone on his instrument, and when he gives into it completely, he can be a heartbreaker.
Read More
"..post-bop, post-cool, post-Mondrian, experimental But he doesn't forget how to swing." Ed Pinsent 10/08/2009
"..refreshingly unique." - John Frederick Moore (JAZZIZ_Jan/Feb 2009)
Lucked out with March 09 JazzTimes a
nice feature by Eric Fine and an excellent review by A.D.
Amorosi: "In other
words, it's gorgeous, soulful and smart."
"****1/2..constantly surprises, assaying glorious, if highly odd, musical horizons. Highly recommended! [read more]"
--Jan P. Dennis, Audiophile Audition
"..It's their superhuman cohesiveness that makes this all work. That, in turn, makes Broken Arm Trio a standout success. Erik Friedlander can really go to town.. [read more]"
--Pico, BlogCritics.org
"And what "out there" music list would be complete without an entry from Erik Friedlander? "Jim Zipper," from his "Broken Arm Trio," is about the most fun you can have in only 68 seconds."
--Mark Saleski, Picks & Best of 2008, Jazz.Com
Blog
"This is effervescent small-group jazz executed with wit and soul."
--Nate Chinen, New York Times, October 19
"But Broken Arm Trio, a band and album that's at least as beholden to Alan Lomax as to Charlie Parker, is stunning-both in what it does and how well they do it. This quirky fusion deserves major attention." -- Michael J West,
Village Voice
"BROKEN ARM TRIO: An Erik Friedlander record by any other name is still and
Erik Friedlander record and this is no exception. To the manor born, this jazzbo has a music biz pedigree and has taken his cello to the heights of the progressive underground having provided the special sauce to just about every recording by every artist in this arena that matters. Here he let's loose with his latest trio, pushing the envelope of where the intersection of jazz and classical can possibly meet. A tasty, ear opening set that defies expectation, progressive tastes will know the underground is alive and well once they catch this clarion call.
(Skipstone)" --Chris Spector, Midwest Record
"Broken Arm Trio is a homage to jazz great Oscar Pettiford, a bass player who broke his arm as a young man (playing basketball, so the story goes) and turned erik2to the cello while his arm was recovering. He's generally credited as helping popularize jazz cello, and it's his legacy that inspires Friendlander and his buddies." Review from BlogCritics Magazine
"... breathtakingly effortless."
--–Brian Morton, Point
of Departure (scroll down)
"Entoure de deux grosses pointures de la scene jazz new-yorkaise (le
batteur Mike Sarin et le contrebassiste Trevor Dunn), et impregne des classiques
du genre signes Charlie Parker, Lester Young ou Count Basie que son pere
aimait a ecouter inlassablement, Erik Friedlander devoile une enieme facette
de sa personnalite et de son talent, en privilegiant ici le fingerpicking,
une specialite dont il est devenu un maitre inconteste." [read
more]
--OndeFixe (Blog)
"Friedlander ademas de estar inmenso con su pizzicato, tiene el merito de superar con nota esa enorme responsabilidad de ser el compositor de todos los temas. Dunn y Sarin, por su parte, estan perfectos tanto en su papel de acompanantes como de solistas. El resultado es un disco totalmente disfrutable y que muestra la cara mas jazzistica de estos tres enormes musicos." [read more] --Buscando un nombre (blog)
"Cellist Erik Friedlander is vooral gekend in jazzkringen waar klassiek geen scheldwoord is. De man bracht een negental spraakmakendecd's uit en werkte met eigenzinnige muzikanten als John Zorn en Dave Douglas." [read more] --RifRaf
"Meanwhile further contemporary jazz emanates from America in the shape of Erik Friedlander and his Broken Arm Trio (SKIPSTONE RECORDS 003). This talented cello player has here made a very approachable and warm record with the help of Trevor Dunn and Mike Sarin; the trio clearly feel comfortable together, they leave lots of space for each other, and the vibe I'm getting so far reminds me of some favourite records by early Ornette Coleman groups, or the record Eric Dolphy made with Mal Waldron. The title is taken from an anecdote about bassist Oscar Pettiford, one of the few jazzmen to have used the cello, which according to Friedlander is "an untapped resource" in jazz." [see website] -- Ed Pinset, The Sound Projector
"Erik Friedlander can do things with a cello that should have a reasonable listener fearing for her life,"
says PitchforkMedia.com,
"Rostropovich one second and Rottweiler the next." Cellist Erik Friedlander, a
virtuosic veteran of NYC's downtown scene, has backed John Zorn, Laurie
Anderson and Courtney Love. New York's Erik Friedlander is a composer and an
improviser, a classical musician and a jazzbo. He has recorded 8 CD's as a
leader and has always worked to stake out new ground for the cello in both his
compositional choices and his dynamic improvising style. Whether its solo
playing or performing with one of his bands Friedlander' blends his vision of
what the cello can be pushed to do, while maintaining a firm grasp on
traditions, both improvising and classical. He is the son of Lee Friedlander,
the photographer known by musicians and jazz aficionados for the cover
photographs he took for Atlantic Records.
TREVOR DUNN
Bassist Trevor Dunn is already known for his intense
musical diversity: 1) as co-founder/composer of the
avant-rock band Mr. Bungle and 2) as the ubiquitous
sideman of countless groups in the jazz circuit of the
San Francisco Bay Area, such as Graham Connah's Sour Note
Seven (Andrew Hill/Mingus inspired septet), Ben
Goldberg's various Trios and Sextets, and John Schott's
Diaglossia Ensemble.
With a background in punk/death metal, the instrumental
and compositional studies of contemporary classical
music, and the experience of playing blues, standards,
and free-jazz, Trevor is now leading his own
Trio-Convulsant with guitarist Adam Levy and drummer
Kenny Wollesen.
Trevor has also worked with the Kronos Quartet, the ROVA
Saxophone Quartet, Wayne Horvitz, William Winant, Terry
Riley, James Tenney, Ellery Eskelin, Gerry Hemingway,
Wadada Leo Smith, Henry Kaiser, Mark Izu, and Eyvind
Kang.
MICHAEL SARIN
Drummer Michael Sarin established himself as a high
caliber jazz drummer and improviser while playing in the
Thomas Chapin Trio. A native of Seattle, Sarin had
relocated to New York by 1991, when the trio recorded the
album Anima for Knitting Factory's label.
The Chapin Trio continued to record excellent albums
until the loss of Thomas Chapin in 1998.In addition to
being a core member of this group, Sarin has worked
frequently with such genre-leading musicians as bassists
Mark Dresser and Drew Gress, pianist Myra Melford,
violinist Mark Feldman, guitarist Brad Shepik and many
more.
Artwork is finished! Kio Griffith, the amazing artist from Los Angeles, has finished the artwork and the CD is now
being manufactured by DiscMakers and will be ready soon.
MARCH, 2008
Here's a quick look at the mastering I did with Steve Berson over at Total Sonic Media.
FEBRUARY, 2008
The record is recorded and mixed! Scott Solter spent 48
hours in San Francisco's Tiny Telephone
Studios mixing my record and I'll be mastering soon.
I'll be posting some samples here soon as soon as I get
the CD scheduled for release..artwork, liner
notes...you know the deal.
There are many mysteries in the art of sound engineering. One is revealed here and now as
Scott Solter applies The Schmoovner
NOVEMBER, 2007
Plans for a new recording are going ahead. We look to
record in January of 2008 with Mike and Trevor.
Engineering will be my friend and colleague from
Block Ice & Propane
Scott Solter . ..more news as it develops.
MAY, 2007
Thanks to everyone who came to our gigs in Italy. You
can download a live recording of The Broken Arm Trio
right here.
The Trio is back from a very successful Portugal/Italy
tour. Our Limited Edition CD SOLD OUT! Many
thanks! Check back for an online offering and more pics
and MP3's
Buy Directly from me - only $12 
