Dave Frishberg © Andrea Canter

“I want to be young, I want to have fun, I want to be a sideman." –David Frishberg, “I Want to be a Sideman”

He may prefer to be just a “sideman” but Grammy-nominated pianist/singer/songwriter David Frishberg has attracted a near-cult-like following over his multi-faceted career. Originally working in the shadow of jazz legends like Ben Webster and Gene Krupa, Frishberg the pianist morphed into Frishberg the songwriter, gaining fame with such gems as “Peel Me a Grape,” “Blizzard of Lies,” “My Attorney Bernie,” and, of course, “I Want to be a Sideman.” A Portland, Oregon resident for the past two decades, Frishberg brings his wit and musicianship to the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles, December 6-9. Nothing like getting the holiday season off to a roaring start!

Early Career

David Frishberg spent his childhood in St. Paul, MN where he worried his parents with his interest in music. He once wrote that “My parents listened to my pianistics with puzzled disapproval, and I once overheard my dad telling his friends that I wanted to be a 'klezmer' …a low class performer, a clown, maybe a step above organ grinder." But as student at St. Paul Central High School, he was already jamming with other young musicians, and notes that he started playing professionally while at the University of Minnesota. At this point, Frishberg only played piano. “It never entered my mind to sing.” Just before graduating from the U of M in 1954, Frishberg played a “real gig” for a few weeks at the Key Club near the Minneapolis campus. “It was a big thrill to really play at a jazz club and not just sit in,” he recalls.

Following college graduation, Frishberg enlisted in the Air Force for two years, moving to New York City after his discharge in 1957. His first gig in the Big Apple was a day job. “You had to be a New York resident to get a union card, so I worked as a copy writer” for a radio station and later for RCA, writing copy for their catalogs.” Once his residency was established in 1958, David left day work “for good” to become a fulltime musician. He initially performed solo and as an accompanist for singers in the Village, later working for Kai Winding’s 4-trombone band. He then worked a year with Carmen McRae before becoming “a regular player” at New York jazz venues, later joining Gene Krupa’s Quartet for three years and making his first recording with Bud Freeman. A year with Ben Webster followed. Frishberg notes that his favorite position, though, was with Al Cohn and Zoot Sims. “We played at the Half Note in New York. Jimmy Rushing was our singer—he’d join us on weekends. The love and feeling of that band and the music we played, the cast of characters we had, was fabulous.”

Dave Frishberg © Andrea Canter

Looking back, David identifies three individuals who most influenced him personally and musically—Al Cohn, Jimmy Rowles, and Dave Karr (his old high school buddy who still blows a sweet horn in the Twin Cities). In addition to Teddy Wilson, Mel Powell, and Nat Cole, he was “a big fan of Tatum and others—Errol Garner and the boppers, Al Haig, and Bud Powell.” But it was particularly Jimmy Rowles whom he admired. “I was already in the Twin Cities Big League, but then I heard a Jimmy Rowles record. Something about the way he played and touched the piano changed me. I wanted to play with and learn from him…Rowles had everything.”

Singing and Songwriting on the West Coast

David released his popular Oklahoma Toad on CTI in 1968, and shortly thereafter moved to Los Angeles to work as a television studio musician. For a while he was employed by Herb Alpert, a gig he once described as “the most fun I'd had. I got a solo spot and played some of my Jelly Roll Morton stuff." He was also recording for Concord, issuing such gems as Getting Some Fun Out of Life in 1977. But until about 1980, it had never occurred to Dave to sing “for real,” although he had already had some success with songwriting. (His baseball-themed “Van Lingle Mungo” was a surprise hit in the late 60s.) But in LA, he was writing jingles and songs, including “Listen Here” which he wrote for the Mary Tyler Moore Show. “I had just gotten into songwriting and I started to sing—I needed to make demos. I got good feedback from the audience and decided it might be fun to do it for real.” The economic realities of the music business also pushed Frishberg more and more into songwriting and singing his own material. “A lot of music jobs had disappeared. Fortunately I could turn left and find another channel. My life changed—I was writing for me, not just for others. I had a new life—I was no longer just a sideman.”

In 1986, David moved again, this time to Portland, OR where he still makes his home. Today, he is refocusing on the piano, and describes his tastes as “older forms of jazz, the jazz of another era—what I played in New York.” He listens to his collection on a revolving basis. “I bring up tapes and records from the basement. Sometimes I listen to nothing but Duke Ellington. And also I listen to singers—Peggy Lee, Billie Holiday, Fred Astaire.”

A night with David Frishberg is a night of pure entertainment in the hands –and voice—of one of America’s great treasures of music. Don’t miss this special gig at the Jazz Bakery, December 4-6.

“Finely-tuned melodies, carefully-crafted lyrics and a liberal dose of wit are the hallmarks of Frishberg’s style, which takes its own idiosyncratic twists and turns. (He's a heck of a piano player too!)” –Jazz Bakery

David Frishberg appears at the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles (3233 Helms), December 6-9, shows at 8 and 9:30 pm. Tickets and information at www.jazzbakery.com. Click here for the full Jazz Police interview with David Frishberg.