David Friesen
David Friesen (born May 6, 1942) is an American jazz bassist. He plays double bass and electric upright bass.
David Friesen
- Name
- David Friesen
- Born
- 6 May 1942
- Birthplace
- Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
- Spouse
- Natalie Digtyar
- Nationality
- United States.
- Occupation
- bassist, double-bassist, composer and musician.
- Fields
- jazz.
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David Friesen (born May 6, 1942) is an American jazz bassist. He plays double bass and electric upright bass.
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bnf · gnd · loc · wikidata · Q1174470 · wikipedia · David Friesen
In this article
Biography
Biography
Friesen worked across bassist, jazz musician, double-bassist, composer and musician. The registers place that work in jazz. This article rests on 57 catalogued compositions, 7 published texts, 33 issued recordings, 1 digitised documents and 9 scholarly references drawn from named institutional registers. Every statement below returns to a source shown in the evidence panel; where the record is silent or divided, the article says so instead of resolving it.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — David Friesen • Born — 6 May 1942 • Birthplace — Tacoma, Washington, U.S. • Spouse — Natalie Digtyar • Children — 3 • Relatives — Dyan Cannon (sister) Jennifer Grant (niece)
Career
Career
• Illustration — David Friesen at Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, Half Moon Bay CA 1978 Friesen began playing bass while serving in the United States Army in Germany. He played with John Handy and Marian McPartland and following this, with Joe Henderson; in 1975, he toured in Europe with Billy Harper. His first album as a session leader appeared that year. In 1976, he began collaborating with guitarist John Stowell; the pair would work together often. He appeared with Ted Curson at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1977. Following this, he worked with Ricky Ford, Duke Jordan, Mal Waldron, and Paul Horn. His 1989 album Other Times, Other Places reached No. 11 on the U.S. Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart. He has also played with Chick Corea, Michael Brecker, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, Kenny Garrett, and Dizzy Gillespie.
Personal life
Personal life
Friesen is the younger brother of actress Dyan Cannon, and the uncle of actress Jennifer Grant. He is the son of Ashkenazi Jewish mother Claire (née Portnoy) and Canadian Mennonite father Ben Friesen. He was married to Kirsten Friesen from 1964 until her death in 2002; they had three children. He has since been remarried to Natalie Digtyar, a fashion designer from the Czech Republic.
As leader/co-leader
As leader/co-leader
• Color Pool (Muse, 1975) • Star Dance (Inner City, 1976) • Waterfall Rainbow (Inner City, 1977) • Through the Listening Glass (Inner City, 1978) • Other Mansions (Inner City, 1979) • Paths Beyond Tracing (SteepleChase, 1980) • Heart to Heart (Golden Flute, 1980) • Storyteller (Muse, 1981) • Yet to Come with Linc Chamberland (Muse, 1981) • Voices (Westwind, 1983) • Amber Skies (Palo Alto, 1983) • Encounters with Mal Waldron (Muse, 1984) • Inner Voices (Global Pacific, 1987) • Other Times, Other Places (Global Pacific, 1989) • Departure (Global Pacific, 1990) • Long Trip Home (ITM Pacific, 1992) • In Concert with Denny Zeitlin (ITM Pacific, 1992) – live • Two for the Show (ITM Pacific, 1994) • 1・2・3 (Burnside, 1994) • Remembering the Moment with Eddie Moore, Jim Pepper, Julian Priester & Mal Waldron (Soul Note, 1994) – rec. 1987 • The Spirit of Christmas with Jeannie Hoffman (Burnside, 1994) • Ancient Kings with Airto Moreira, Gary Barone (Shamrock, 1994) • Returning with Glen Moore (Burnside, 1995) • Three to Get Ready (Summit, 1995) • Upon the Swing (Shamrock, 1996) • Four to Go with John Gross, Gary Barone, Alan Jones (ITM Pacific, 1996) – rec. 1995 • Facing the Wind with Leszek Możdżer (Power Bros, 1996) • Castles and Flags (Shamrock, 1996) • Still Waters with Ralf Illenberger, Ulrike Dinter (Shamrock, 1997) • Tomorrow's Dream (Shamrock, 1998) • Live at Jazz Bakery with Denny Zeitlin (Intuition, 1999) – live rec. 1996 • Grace with Jeff Gardner (Khaeon, 2000) • Made in Berlin with Uwe Kropinski (ITM, 2001)[DVD-Video] • With You in Mind with Gary Versace (Summit, 2001) • Songs of the Night Wind with Ulli Dinter (Dominant Thomastik Infeld, 2001) • The Name of a Woman (Intuition, 2001)[2CD] • Midnight Mood: Live in Stockholm (Intuition, 2004) – live rec. 2002 • Made in Istanbul with Uwe Kropinski (ITM, 2004) • Connection (ITM, 2006) • Christmas at Woodstock (West Wind, 2006) • Circle Of Three (ITM, 2009) • Brilliant Heart (ITM, 2013) – rec. 2012 • Morning Star (Color Pool Music, 2014) • Textures with Christian Hassenstein, Joost Lijbaart (DJAMtones, 2014) • Where the Light Falls (Origin, 2014)[2CD] • Bactrian with Glen Moore (Origin, 2015) • Triple Exposure (Origin, 2016) • Structures (Origin, 2017)[2CD] • Another Time Another Place (Rattle, 2017) • My Faith, My Life (Origin, 2018)[2CD] • Interaction (Origin, 2019) • Testimony (Origin, 2020) • Passage with Bob Ravenscroft (Origin, 2021) • Day of Rest (Origin, 2021) – rec. 2020
As sideman
As sideman
With Ted Curson • Jubilant Power (Inner City, 1976) • Snake Johnson (Chiaroscuro, 1981) – rec. 1980 With Kenny Drew • Ruby, My Dear (SteepleChase, 1980) – rec. 1977 With Ricky Ford • Manhattan Plaza (Muse, 1978) With Billy Harper • Black Saint (Black Saint, 1975) With Duke Jordan • Duke's Artistry (SteepleChase, 1978) • The Great Session (SteepleChase, 1981) – rec. 1978 With Uwe Kropinski • Dancing with the Bass (ITM, 1989) With Mal Waldron • One Entrance, Many Exits (Palo Alto, 1982) • Dedication (Soul Note, 1985)
Life and work
Life and work
David Friesen was born on 6 May 1942 in Tacoma. Friesen held the nationality of United States. Recorded sibling: Dyan Cannon. Friesen worked as bassist, jazz musician, double-bassist and composer, and the authority record catalogues a further 1 occupations under the same name, among them musician. The fields Friesen worked in include jazz. Friesen played the double bass.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1942
David Friesen was born on 6 May 1942.
Catalogued output
Compositions
The entries below are works composed by the subject, as the institutional registers catalogue them; later performances and commercial recordings of the same music are listed separately. 57 further compositions are catalogued under Friesen's name without a date the collections agree on, which is why they are set apart from the dated run rather than placed in it. A selection is set out below and the complete run may be opened beneath it.
The entries follow MusicBrainz
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Wings of Light
Peace for the Enduring Heart
Mountain Streams (For Kim)
Children of the Kingdom
Through the Listening Glass
1 Rue Brey
Fields of Joy
Song for My Sons
Song of Switzerland
Blue in Green
The complete catalogue · 30
The entries follow MusicBrainz
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Wings of Light
Peace for the Enduring Heart
Mountain Streams (For Kim)
Children of the Kingdom
Through the Listening Glass
1 Rue Brey
Fields of Joy
Song for My Sons
Song of Switzerland
Blue in Green
Dolphin in the Sky (In Memory of Jack Howell)
Farewell to Atlantis
A Little Child's Poem (For David, Scott and Tobin)
Spring Wind (A Wedding Song for Vincent & Sharon)
Castles & Flags
Dancing Spirits Before the Lord
Visions of Tomorrow
Prelude / Children of the Light
Secret Moments of Silence
The Truth About Sex
The Peace That Passes Understanding (In Memory of Andre Gerand)
Up Hahn The Swing
Duet and Dialogue
Speak No Evil
To Hear the World in a Grain of Sand
Belly of the Beast
Song of the Stars
Flight of the Angels
Catalogued output
Writings on music
These are catalogued publications carrying the name — editions and printings, distinct from the works they contain and from writing about the subject. The run opens with A study of the subculture of students in eight selected western Canadian high schools and closes with Mehr Bewegung Im Arbeitsalltag. The 1990s are the densest part of the run, with 3 titles, and that concentration is a fact about what the registers have catalogued rather than a judgement on the work itself.
7 editions carry dates between 1966 and 2023
The entries follow Open Library
A study of the subculture of students in eight selected western Canadian high schools
1966
David Friesen - Departure
1992
David Friesen - Years Through Time
1995
Journey of faith
1995
Lion Roared FREEDOM
2017
Writer Emergency Survival Guide
2021
Mehr Bewegung Im Arbeitsalltag
2023
Primary material
Recordings and discography
The discography assembled here shows how Friesen's work has been published in sound, not what Friesen made. 33 sound issues are catalogued, carrying dates from 1976 to 2018. An issue is a published recording, distinct from the composition it carries, from a printed score of that composition and from any single performance of it; none of the entries below is counted in the catalogue of compositions above, and several of them carry the same work in different readings. The 1990s are the densest decade of publication, with 20 issues. The performers and issuing labels are as the discographic register states them; where it names no performer the article names none.
Encounters
1985
Connection
2006
Facing the Wind
1996
Departure
1990
Long Trip Home
1992
Ancient Kings, dated 1994..Three To Get Ready
1994
Four to Go
1996
Castles And Flags
1996
Jonah's Journey
1994
Inner Voices
1991
Remembering The Moment
1994
Born of Water
1987
In Concert
1992
Remembering Mal
1987
Dedication
1988
Heart to Heart
1983
Upon the Swing
1993
Made in Berlin
1999
The Spirit Of Christmas
1994
Star Dance
1976
Old Folks
1999
Returning
1995
Live at the Jazz Bakery
1999
Amber Skies
1993
Voices
2008
My Faith My Life
2018
Two for the Show
1993
To Hear the World in a Grain of Sand - World Music: Live at the Donaueschingen Festival
1986
Concord Duo Series, Volume Eight
Waterfall Rainbow
1977
Still Waters
1997
Primary material
Documents and archives
institutional register
- Bibliothèque nationale de France authority file 13955089z
General reference · Bibliothèque nationale de France
- Discogs authority file 335786
General reference · Discogs
- GND (German National Library) authority file 134699874
General reference · GND (German National Library)
- IdRef (French universities) authority file 192631926
General reference · IdRef (French universities)
- ISNI authority file 0000000108303645
General reference · ISNI
- Library of Congress authority file n83175256
General reference · Library of Congress
reference work
- “David Friesen”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Authority records
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
institutional register
Bibliothèque nationale de France authority file 13955089zBibliothèque nationale de France
Secondary witnessinstitutional register
Secondary witnessinstitutional register
GND (German National Library) authority file 134699874GND (German National Library)
Secondary witnessinstitutional register
IdRef (French universities) authority file 192631926IdRef (French universities)
Secondary witnessinstitutional register
Secondary witnessinstitutional register
Library of Congress authority file n83175256Library of Congress
Secondary witnessinstitutional register
Secondary witnessinstitutional register
Secondary witness
Every cited source · 10
- 01
Bibliothèque nationale de France authority file 13955089z
institutional register · General reference · Bibliothèque nationale de France
Consult the source - 02
- 03
GND (German National Library) authority file 134699874
institutional register · General reference · GND (German National Library)
Consult the source - 04
IdRef (French universities) authority file 192631926
institutional register · General reference · IdRef (French universities)
Consult the source - 05
ISNI authority file 0000000108303645
institutional register · General reference · ISNI
Consult the source - 06
Library of Congress authority file n83175256
institutional register · General reference · Library of Congress
Consult the source - 07
MusicBrainz artist authority
institutional register · General reference · MusicBrainz
Consult the source - 08
- 09
“David Friesen”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
reference work · Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Consult the source - 10
Wikidata, structured authority record Q1174470: David Friesen
institutional register · General reference · Wikimedia Foundation
Consult the source
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
42,832 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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- David FriedmanPerson
- David FunckPerson
- David GainesPerson
- David GarfieldPerson
- David GaribaldiPerson
Best supported in this field
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