Donald Ernest Friedman (May 4, 1935 – June 30, 2016) was an American jazz pianist. He began playing in Los Angeles and moved to New York in 1958. In the 1960s, he played with both modern stylists and more traditional musicians.

Friedman was born on May 4, 1935, in San Francisco. Both of his parents immigrated to the United States: his father, Edward Friedman, was from Lithuania, and his mother, Alma Loew, was from Germany. He began playing the piano at the age of four, switching from classical music to jazz after his family moved to Los Angeles when he was fifteen. His early jazz piano influence was Bud Powell. Friedman briefly studied composition at Los Angeles City College.