David Friedman

**David Friedman** is a vibraphone and marimba legend born in New York City on March 10, 1944, who's been pushing the boundaries of jazz percussion since the '70s. After studying at Juilliard and diving into contemporary music with folks like Luciano Berio, he hit the scene touring and recording with heavyweights such as Hubert Laws, Yoko Ono, Wayne Shorter, and Horace Silver—heck, he even snagged a "Most Valuable Player" studio award in 1975.

In 1977, he teamed up with Dave Samuels to form the groundbreaking vibe-marimba duo Double Image (originally a quartet), which scored a German Grammy nomination and keeps touring today. A top educator too, Friedman founded Berlin's University of the Arts jazz program, headed it for 16 years, and wrote the go-to book *Vibraphone Technique, Dampening and Pedaling*. His solo albums like *Air Sculpture* and collabs on *Shades of Change* (with Geri Allen) earned major props from DownBeat and more—he's still composing, teaching masterclasses worldwide, and dropping gems with groups like Tambour.