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| Erik Friedlander's 'Block Ice & Propane' Erik Friedlander's new album 'Block Ice & Propane' out August 14 on Skipstone Records. From an early age, Erik Friedlander got used to having his picture taken. The son of renowned photographer Lee Friedlander, Erik was photographed all across the United States--at the Grand Canyon, in New Orleans during Jazz Fest, and in Aberdeen, Washington after early morning hunt for razorback clams--as his father took the family on months-long road trips often scheduled around photo shoots and teaching assignments. "When I started writing the music for 'Block Ice, ' I remembered these trips. The music I was writing had an Amercian roots flavor so I turned to the Harry Smith [Smithsonian Folkways' 'Anthology of American Folk Music'] for more inspiration and the threads started weaving together--the project was starting to make sense to me", recalls Erik about the origins of his new album 'Block Ice & Propane, ' due out August 14 on Skipstone Records. The album, a collection of solo, instrumental cello music, evokes his trips in America via songs such as "Airstream Envy", "Road Weary", "Night White", "Cold Chicken" and "Pressure Cooking." 'Block Ice & Propane' also represents the first time Lee's photographs accompany one of Erik's albums. He remembers, "We were along for the ride month after month. My father pursues photography in single-minded way. We would revisit a monument or a particular city park so he could get the light right in the shot. I remember my sister and I baking inside the unairconditioned camper while Lee was taking a picture of a bush--we'd beg him to wrap it up quickly!" Erik told the New York Times, in a July 17 feature, "I had a model of someone who just pursued what they needed to do for their art. So, when I wanted to try to do something different with the cello, I didn't feel like, 'Well, maybe this is impossible, I shouldn't try this.' I know exactly what to do about this: You just do it." Lee's legacy looms large. Author of two-dozen books, he first moved to New York in 1956. He worked for Atlantic Records, shooting album covers of jazz and rhythm & blues figures from Ray Charles to John Coltrane. In 1967, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) tapped Lee as one of three photographers of the groundbreaking New Documents exhibition, which brought him new acclaim. Awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 1990, Friedlander was the subject of a solo MoMA retrospective in 2005 featuring his visions of the American social landscape. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |