[1] Friedman performed as a saxophonist throughout the early 1960s and became a key member of the Free-Form Improvisational Ensemble with Burton Greene and Alan Silva.
[3] During this period, Friedman's theatrical career began as the composer of scores for plays by Paul Foster, Tom Eyen, and Jean-Claude van Itallie at Ellen Stewart's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club.
[7][8] Friedman's musical Taking My Turn, for which Holt wrote the lyrics, won the Outer Critics Circle Award in 1983, and was presented on PBS's Great Performances series with a cast that included Margaret Whiting, Marni Nixon, and Cissy Houston.
Friedman has co-produced and composed original material for several internationally acclaimed jazz recordings with his wife, vocalist and lyricist, Stevie Holland.
Ligeia, an orchestral chamber work inspired by the short story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe, had its world premiere in October 2011 with the Pit Stop Players at The DiMenna Center for the Arts in New York City.