He studied drums in the mid-'50s, and marimba and xylophone in the '60s. Friedman attended Juilliard, with major emphasis on percussion. He was also tutored by Teddy Charles and Hall Overton. Friedman played with the New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera in the '60s, then worked with Wayne Shorter, Horace Silver, Joe Chambers, Hubert Laws, and Horacee Arnold in the '70s. After touring and participating in Ludwig Drum Company workshops with Dave Samuels, Friedman and Samuels formed the Mallet Duo in 1975 and co-led the quartet Double Image from 1977 to 1980. Friedman recorded with Daniel Humair in 1979 and Chet Baker in 1982. He was an instructor at New York's Manhattan School of Music and Montreux's Institute for Advanced Musical Studies in the mid-'70s. Friedman has remained active in education, composing, performing, and recording into the 21st century, and formed his trio Tambour -- featuring saxophonist Peter Weniger and bassist Pepe Berns -- in 2003. Tambour issued their first CD, Earfood, in January of the following year; accordionist Jean-Louis Matinier was added to the lineup for Rodney's Parallel Universe, released in 2007. ~ Ron Wynn