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 were immigrants 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. He switched 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.

On the West Coast, Friedman performed with Dexter Gordon, Chet Baker, Buddy DeFranco, and Ornette Coleman. He was also a member of Clark Terry‘s big band.

Friedman moved to New York permanently in 1958. In the 1960s, Friedman played with both modern jazz and more traditional or popular musicians. The former included Coleman, Eric Dolphy, Jimmy Giuffre, Booker Little, and Attila Zoller; the latter included Bobby Hackett and Herbie Mann. Frieman’s first album as a leader was A Day in the City, in 1961.