Meet Jordan Friedman | Composer, Arranger, Conductor, Trombonist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jordan Friedman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jordan, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I pursued a career in music because it is what I think about when I start each day and before I go bed. Music has become such a passion of mine, that it is hard to imagine my life without it. I am specifically interested in writing and playing music for film, so I’ve been composing and arranging for orchestra and jazz combo, playing classical and jazz trombone, and conducting orchestras and concert bands.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What sets me apart from others is my love for working with others and live ensembles. In the music industry today, there is a lot of music technology. This is very important for the success of any project, and I have a lot of respect for people who are great with music technology. However, I still believe that music is made with live ensembles, so in addition to learning music technology, I also trained to work with ensembles in a quick and efficient way that leads to the best possible product. I got to were I am today professionally by taking a lot of trombone gigs and talking to other people. I also met a lot of great people that I now work with in the CSUN Studio Ensemble. Getting to this point in my career has not been easy, because there were a lot of long works hours and non-paying gigs that I had to take. So far, I’ve learned that it is really important to treat people with respect and to be reliable, because you get work through other people. When people look at my story, I want them to know how much I value using live musicians because there is so much more emotion and character put into the music that way. There is a magic to working with live musicians in the process and product of making music that is irreplaceable.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take best friend to eat at VIPS cafe in Tarzana. It’s great food and it’s cool that it was John Wooden’s favorite breakfast spot. I would also go to the beach, particularly a lesser known one in Malibu, because I love the water. I would also have a big party at my house, because I really like hosting. In addition, I would go to the Dark Horse Tavern in Tarzana because they have some pretty good drinks. I would also do some spontaneous night drives to Santa Monica, because I think doing spontaneous trips are fun. Lastly, I like Greek food so I would take my best friend to Cafe Graikos in Porter Ranch.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to give a shout out the California State University Northridge(CSUN) Studio Ensemble. The ensemble taught me how to compose, arrange, conduct, and rehearse an ensemble, which are skills that have benefited me in the field. The ensemble also helped build my site reading ability on trombone.

I would also like to give a shout out to my mother, Judy Friedman, who has given me lots of support. She has also been an amazing music copyist for all of my arrangements and compositions.

My final shout out is to my girlfriend, Sophie Bakaev. Sophie is a talented singer who specializes in opera, and she has been very supportive in helping me achieve my goals.

Website: jordanfriedmanmusic.com

Instagram: Jordan_Friedman_Music